So. Lafourche Biddy raises money with 5-on-5

It’s not easy to run a successful youth basketball program.

The burden on the shoulders of South Lafourche Biddy Basketball got just a little bit lighter this weekend.

That’s because the youth organization hosted the second-annual SL Summer Classic. All proceeds for the men’s league basketball tournament went to benefit the local biddy organization as they head toward the start of their 2011 season.

“We had this idea about a year ago to do a men’s league-style tournament and to do it as a fundraiser for biddy,” South Lafourche Biddy Basketball President Blake Lee said. “So we did. And it was a success. … This year’s event was no different. We really did have a good event and everyone had a lot of fun.”

In total, nine teams signed up for the weekend-long event, which took place at the Cut Off Youth Center for the second-straight year.

Players from Grand Isle and Houma joined the mostly South Lafourche group of players who competed in the double elimination tournament.

“We had a good turnout,” Lee said. “It’s a good atmosphere. It’s a good, family fun event. We’re going to keep it going.”

Each team that registered paid a $250 entry fee, which served as a donation to South Lafourche Biddy. Fan admission costs throughout the weekend also went to the youth organization.

Local businesses like The Gear Loft, Kief Hardware, Ben Labat & The Happy Devil, Audrey’s Florist, Contender’s and Saunders and Chabert Attorneys at Law also donated and served as sponsors for the tournament.

From that group, most of the teams had sponsors of their own to cover their entry fee.

“It’s amazing,” Lee said. “The support is pretty awesome. It’s good to know the people in your community are behind what you’re doing.”

Half of the money raised in the invitational will go to cover equipment costs in the new season. The other half will go to establish a South Lafourche Biddy Basketball Scholarship Fund.

“We’re looking to target kids who grew up in our program and reward them with funding for college,” Lee said. “A lot of people are really starting to buy into that idea. We think it’ll be a great thing.”

In recent years, biddy basketball has seen a bit of a renaissance in the South Lafourche area.

In 2010, enrollment in the organization was up by 100 kids. This year, Lee said he and other board members are looking to get 500 kids into the program, which would be another leap of more than 100 kids.

Lee believes advertising efforts locally, including events like the open tournament are key in making that goal a reality.

“It’s just about letting the community know we’re here and that we want to give their kid the opportunity to compete and have fun,” Lee said.

Just as important as fundraising, the open tournament also produces some highly competitive, but clean, basketball for the Cut Off community to witness.

Several of South Lafourche’s best basketball players turn out for what usually becomes a unique event that sometimes pits young vs. old or former high school teammates against one another.

Bridgeside Marina won the event for the second-straight year, rolling through the tournament undefeated.

They defeated Larose 4 Life in the championship game.

“There’s good competition,” Lee said. “There’s a lot of good players. There’s a lot of people who still think they can play, but can’t. … Whatever the situation, anyone can play and it’s a great thing we do.”

Lee said because of the event’s success, plans are already in the works for next year’s tournament. He said the event will expand and add more teams.

But for now, he’s just excited about another year of youth basketball.

“It’s all about the kids,” Lee said with a smile. “It really is. That’s why we’re here. You know when we were all kids, that’s right around the time when video games were invented. So we saw that and just thought that they were the coolest thing ever invented. … So naturally, you raise your kids the same way you were raised, so kids have so much exposure to those things these days that they never go out and play anymore. … We want to change that. We want to let kids run around and have fun. We want kids to fall in love with basketball again.”

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