On Saturday morning, at Winooski’s West Allen Park, kids and teenagers will get the chance to play basketball with Vermont’s senior U.S. senator.
It is one of three youth basketball events Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will host on the day. After Winooski, Sanders will head north to Derby, before rounding off the day in St. Albans City.
“I don’t think I’ll be playing for the Celtics. My basketball career is probably over,” the 82-year-old Sanders said, wryly. “But I do shoot hoops and I think, with the kids, maybe I’ll shoot hoops.”
Sanders, a longtime player of the sport, said he wanted to encourage young people to be physically active. The effects of the pandemic on children, he added, made him keen to bring kids together in person “to play ball with each other.”
“Also, I think it’s becoming widely appreciated that kids are spending too much time on their phones,” Sanders said.
Sanders has organized a number of intellectual and artistic events for Vermont youth in the past, from annual essay contests, to choir concerts, to chess tournaments. Saturday’s basketball shootarounds, however, will be the first athletic events his office puts together.
“I happen to be somebody who believes in ‘Strong body, strong minds.’ We want to keep our kids healthy,” said Sanders.
The events, which will feature a free throw contest, are open to youth aged 5 to 18 of all skill levels and experience, according to a press release from Sanders’ campaign. Most important, said Sanders, is that everyone who participates will get a free basketball to take home with them.
“When I was a kid growing up, I played a lot of basketball, but I don’t recall that my family had enough money to buy me a basketball,” said Sanders.
He continued: “So the idea of kids having their own basketball, being able to go out to the park, shoot hoops, play ball with each other — I think that’s a positive thing.”
The first of the “Basketball with Bernie” events will begin at 9:30 a.m. at West Allen Park in Winooski. At 1 p.m., Sanders will arrive at North Country Junior High School in Derby. He will host the final event of the day at Collins Perley Fitness Center in St. Albans City at 4 p.m.
Tickets are not required, but an RSVP is encouraged “to save a spot,” according to the press release.
