Cream Skills basketball mentors Milwaukee youth: 'Daily mission'

MILWAUKEE - There are some pretty good runs on the basketball court at MATC's downtown campus on summer nights. The players bring polished skill sets to the games, and Cream Skills Inc. makes sure that's not the be all and end all for hoopers.

"It's more than just playing basketball. It gives them a focus, it gives them a goal," said Armen Hadjanian, MATC vice president of training. "We're all volunteers. We have maybe a three-to-one mentor ratio with the players."

Those in the program are reaping the benefits. Before taking the court for their structured league games, participants learn about entrepreneurship, money, careers and gun violence prevention.

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"In 2008, my best friend was murdered in broad daylight right after playing basketball with the neighborhood youth, and I promised his mother at the funeral that I was going to do something for the community," said Nigel Harvey, the league's executive director. "I just didn't know at the time what it was."

"I have an extensive background working with Milwaukee youth. It just went off in my head, ‘this is it,' and from there, we're here."

Former Milwaukee Panthers player Mark Briggs grew up in the city and knows the challenges that face kids doing that now.

"Young men, 15 to 18 years old, we know with that population. There's a lot going on, and not a lot of options for them, so we thought basketball would get them in the door and then partner with MATC to give them some opportunites to learn what their life will be like after basketball, or the sport or whatever is next after graduation," he said.

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The free, summer-long program for kids ages 14 to 17 uses basketball as the carrot to introduce the players to real-life decisions.

"It's a daily mission," Harvey said. "It's something i'm very proud of."

It takes a horde of volunteers to run a program so smoothly. Each of those people gets the ultimate reward, though: respect. The kids deserve a lot of credit for their consistent attendance throughout the summer.

"I see a lot of things," said Briggs. "I see potential, I see desire, I see discipline, I see intent. They'll show up here whether they have games or not. At the end of the day, I see they want to make a difference in their own lives."

And then there's basketball, which keeps them close. The sport reveals the teams that best work together and grow from their losses. In other words, those good runs on summer nights are good steps toward life.