Perry Chapel Upward Sports ends season

Perry Chapel Church Upward Sports celebrated the end of its basketball season with a special program March 9 at River View High School.

Janie Clifford is the fundraising commissioner and manager of the snack shop at the church for Upward Sports.

"It's a full restaurant where people can come in and eat and watch the games. We start practice right after the New Year, and then our eight weeks of games start every Saturday. It's for kindergarten up through junior high at Perry Chapel Baptist Church. We have grown so big, and we have all the parents and grandparents here, so that's a lot of people.”

The program is for anyone who wants to play, and scholarships are offered. There were 200 kids playing this year.

“We are able to offer scholarships through fundraisers like the snack shop at the church and Millersport Sweet Corn Festival, with all proceeds going to Upward,” Clifford said. “Anyone that wants to play, we make sure they play. We offer scholarships for everyone. The scholarships go for memberships to join the team, and they get a uniform.

"A lot of things go on. They have a devotional time and practice every week during the season. Each team has two coaches. We have 21 basketball teams. There are eight weeks of games. The boys team is kindergarten through ninth grade and kindergarten through seventh grade for the girls."

This program is about presenting the Gospel, and basketball is the platform used.

“People like to come out to watch the games, and the little kindergartners are just darling,” Clifford said. “We divide them according to their skill levels, and the volunteer coaches come in and take over. The Upward cheerleaders performed in two groups, Aerial Angels and Cherub Chicks, to encourage the team and motivate the crowd.”

Part of the celebration March 9 included Bruce and Diane Crevier and their 12 children sharing their Spin-tacular Basketball Show. They were there to entertain and share a message of hope. The kids and their coaches learned a few tricks, like how to make a basketball spin and passing the ball backward between your legs and catching it.

Bruce Crevier is a six-time world record holder for basketball spinning and has spun as many as 30 basketballs simultaneously. Their Champions Forever mission is to uplift the name of Jesus Christ and use their talents and resources to encourage, equip, inspire and challenge youth and adults to become champions in the game of life.