JUMPING THROUGH HOOPS TO HELP KIDS

Antidrug event steering youths in right direction

Fourteenyearold Latasha Sloan of Dallas has set an important goal for
herself to stay away from drugs.

"I wouldn't do drugs. I want to keep a healthy body," she said.

Sloan was just one of more than 400 children from housing authorities
across the state who participated Saturday in the fifth annual High on
Hoops Drug Prevention Weekend.

Children from housing authorities in Austin, Baytown, Corpus Christi,
Dallas, Fort Worth, Galveston, Houston, San Antonio, Tyler and Waco
gathered at the Fonde Recreation Center on the west side of downtown for
the event. It consisted of a basketball tournament and workshop designed to
help innercity children increase their selfesteem and help keep them away
from drugs.

"It's not just to get out there and play ball it's about setting goals
in life," said Randy Bostic, youth service coordinator for the Houston
Housing Authority, the group that planned the event. "We want to make sure
that kids plan and prioritize their lives."

By creating a positive opportunity in which children can participate, they
become more interested in what the future holds for them, said Cleo
GlennJohnson, president of the Black United Fund of Texas, which works
with innercity communities and helped fund the event.

This year's theme, "Setting Goals," was emphasized in Saturday's opening
ceremonies by several speakers as an alternative to crime and substance
abuse.

Houston Comets guard Cynthia Cooper told of her experiences growing up in
the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts.

"I didn't know where my next meal was coming from," Cooper said.

"I dreamt of being the best in whatever I did. I never lost my hope. I
never lost my focus," Cooper said, adding that she used basketball as a
steppingstone to get where she wanted to be in life.

The High on Hoops event gives participants a chance to focus on the
positive, Cooper said. "It gives them hope. It gets them out of their
respective cities and in a positive atmosphere," she said.

Former Houston Oilers wide receiver Webster Slaughter told the children to
avoid drugs by resisting peer pressure to use them, even if the pressure
comes from close friends or siblings. "If they didn't have any friends that
did drugs, (many children) wouldn't do drugs," he said.

"The reality of the matter is they know the difference between right and
wrong themselves," Slaughter said, adding that it is up to the children to
make the right decisions in life.

Sloan, playing for one of the Dallas teams, said she thought the high
selfesteem, antidrugs and anticrime message was a good one. "Some
teenagers go out and join gangs (or) fight over stupid stuff. They need to
take that message to heart it'll help them in life."

Sloan has already set a goal for herself to play basketball in either
the Women's National Basketball Association or the Olympic Games.

Marlon Cox, a 15yearold playing for Houston, said encouragement to avoid
drugs can help keep kids away from them.

P.J. Floyd, 16, also of Houston, said he learned the importance of
respecting others and treating them "like you want to be treated."

The tournament began Saturday afternoon and continues through Monday,
culminating in the boys' and girls' championship games. Participants are
divided into 28 teams in the doubleelimination tournament.

Workshops covering such topics as anticrime and selfesteem also began
Saturday, said George H. Rodriguez, director of the Houston office of the
federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, which provides grants
to the Houston Housing Authority for this and other drugprevention
programs.

The workshops consist of discussion groups in which the participants share
their experiences and get feedback from each other. "They really drop their
barriers, their facades," Rodriguez said.

The weekend event also offered many children a chance to learn about
getting along with others, especially those from other parts of the state,
said Lamontry Lott, sports league coordinator for the Dallas Housing
Authority. "(They learn that the world is) more than what's in your
community," Lott said.

Copyright 1997 Houston Chronicle