Sunrise Rotary Equips Young Athletes

Sunrise Rotary Equips Young Athletes

BOBBY ARDOIN

Editor/Consulting Writer

Opelousas youths have sufficient space at two city parks and a boys’ and girls’ club facility available for developing athletic skills.

Now many of the youths are being assisted by the Opelousas Sunrise Rotary Club with the essential equipment to develop further athletically.

Using Rotary grants, donations and other individual funding, members of Sunrise Rotary are distributing basketballs, volleyballs and disc golf sets that club members think will help utilize the municipal space available for recreation.

Recently during a separate presentation, the club provided youths with 60 basketballs and a number of the golf disc nets.

Skills demonstrations, workouts and agility drills were conducted for basketball and disc golf, said Yvonne Normand, who represented the athletic endeavor approved by the club.

Normand said the volleyballs are scheduled to be given to the youths at a later date. The recent inclement weather has prevented the volleyball presentations to be made at the outdoor volleyball courts at South City Park, Normand said.

“What we are trying to do is provide the equipment that will give these kids the encouragement to play sports and use the parks. The club voted to make the purchases to give children in the city what they need to go out and play,” said Normand.

Normand said the plan received additional assistance from the athletic equipment companies.

“We were fortunate that in conjunction with the grants, we were able to obtain discounts from the companies that we dealt with,” Normand said.

The basketballs will possibly be used more in North City Park where there are already established courts, said Normand.

There are disc courts that are already in place along the walking trail in South City Park, Normand said.

Basketballs were provided to different age groups recently at the Opelousas Boys and Girls Club on Laurent Street.

Normand said the youths who received the basketballs were also engaged in a series of agility drills, shooting exhibitions and skills practices by Boys and Girls Club director Aaron Williams.

“Aaron ran the basketball distribution like a real basketball camp and I saw the kids really enjoying themselves. For disc golf, we had Joshua Patin showing the kids how to set up the goals and play the games,” Normand said.

City Court Judge Shaun Caillier-Hardin will be in charge of developing the volleyball program, Normand said.

Normand said the Club has also discussed the possibility of combining with Lafayette golf professional Chris Arceneaux to teach competitive golf lessons to Opelousas youths.

“This is something that we have discussed. Vanessa Harris and several other women from the club are playing golf right now and we are working with (Arceneaux) to possibly help us with teaching regular golf skills,” Normand added.