By JEFF OLIVER
MVI Sports
When Yancey Taylor was putting together his We Care for Kids Sports Summer Basketball League, he admitted he was pretty much winging it.
“I didn’t know all the ins and outs or how it would turn out, I just wanted to do something for the kids,” Taylor said. “When I was a kid, I was given an opportunity and I tried to make the most of it. It was important to me to give these kids an opportunity and an experience they would never forget.
“Once we started planning, things really took off.”
For two months, Taylor’s league brought over 350 boys and girls in grades 3-8 together to compete.
On Thursday, at Ringgold Middle School, six champions were crowned for winning their respective divisions.
Now that it’s over, the former Ringgold and European basketball star said he just feels humbled and blessed.
“Things could not have gone any better,” he said. “From the first day at Highland Terrace court in June when I saw the amazing crowd for the games to our last championship games, it was really smooth sailing.
“To see how hard these kids competed and worked through the summer, we didn’t lose one kid. Nobody quit. That says a lot about these kids and my staff. What an experience this has been.”
Taylor emphasized that the league wasn’t about him, but about the kids, his staff and sponsors.
“We preach working as a team to the kids and this was a total team effort,” he said proudly. “This wasn’t ever about me. It was a team effort from the kids, team effort from the staff, team effort from the parents and team effort from our sponsors.”
Taylor praised his sponsors for their generous financial support, his staff of volunteers who gave of their time graciously and the parents of the players who were so supportive.
“I can’t name everyone who helped, but they know who they are. They were the real stars,” Taylor said.
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