If you think the cold spell is going to drive your kids a little stir crazy during Christmas break, the Odessa Police Department has just the thing.
OPD Chief Mike Gerke’s 5th Annual 3-on-3 Youth Basketball Throwdown will be at Permian High School’s field house Wednesday, Dec. 28. Registration begins at 7 a.m. and the games will start at 9 a.m. The free event is for kids in the 6th through 12th grades and early registration is underway now.
To register visit: tinyurl.com/yeu5k5y3
The tournament is designed for sixth through 12th graders and divided into two categories: sixth through eighth grade and nine through-12th. Each team consists of three to five players and the winning team from each category gets to play a team of OPD officers.
The tournament started six years ago, joining the department’s other outreach programs like block parties, Citizens on Patrol and the Citizen’s Police Academy, but they had to skip it in 2020. Anywhere from 50 to 100 kids have participated in the other years.
“Chief Gerke believes it’s important to give back to the community. We do this every year to give kids something to do during the holiday break. Now more than ever, it’s so important for police to develop positive interactions with the youth to help build that trust,” said Cpl. Steve LeSueur
Food and drinks are provided for free, courtesy of HEB, he said.
