Posted on: 2009-02-16
Written by: Nikki Brand
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| Tim Jagielo | The Flushing Observer
Ben Church reacts to a play his team makes during a basketball game at Flushing Community Church of the Nazarene. Ben sits and plays the same amount as his teammates. Coach Adam Hartley (left) offers all the players positive reinforcement. |
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| Tim Jagielo | The Flushing Observer
Ben Church attempts to collect a rebound from Cole Smith, No. 23. The boys play basketball on a team in the Upward program at Flushing Community Church of the Nazarene. |
FLUSHING TOWNSHIP, Michigan — Ben Church doesn't think twice about shooting hoops from his wheelchair, and to his Upward teammates, he's just one of the guys.
Ben, 10, is the only player in a wheelchair on the Upward basketball program at Flushing Community Church of the Nazarene. His mother, Julie Church, said she wasn't sure if he would be allowed to play, but Ben never doubted his place on the court.
"He doesn't really understand why he wouldn't be able to play," Church said. "He believes it's only natural that he can play on the team."
The national Upward program allows children in kindergarten through sixth grade to cheerlead or play on a basketball team. There are no tryouts; children at any skill level can participate.
"It's like a little piece of my heart is out there playing," Church said as her son raced down the court in his wheelchair at the Flushing Township church.
Ben, an avid basketball player who plays any chance he gets, brought plenty of skills to the team.
"I have great teammates, and I love my coaches," Ben said. "I love playing basketball, and I play at home."
Church, 43, of Mt. Morris Township and her husband, Tim, are impressed with Upward.
"It's run so professionally," Julie Church said.
"I like the idea of a community of children coming together to play, have fun and get some exercise.
As they get older, the opportunities do become more limited and more competitive."
Flushing Community Church of the Nazarene, 9500 W. Pierson Road, advertises the program throughout the area, attracting 260 children.
The Upward program was designed as a sports ministry that promotes salvation, character and self-esteem in every child.
"The goal is that every child gets the same play time — it doesn't matter if you're good or if you're bad. You're never going to get better unless you practice," said Tim St. Cin, 46. Cin has coached a boys basketball team for two years.
He said coaches use guide books to record how long each child has been on the court so that everyone gets equal playing time.
St. Cin and his wife, Dawn, have two daughters in the program. Mandy, 10, plays basketball, and Emily, 7, is a cheerleader. St. Cin said he thought his children's interests were the opposite.
"I didn't think she would like basketball, and she's learning," he said of Mandy.
"She's picking up left and right, and she's not learning from her dad. She is an academic kind of kid; it's good to get her out there and playing, and she's in a situation where she isn't being yelled at."
Nicholas Mills, 11, a fifth-grader at Seymour Elementary School, has played basketball for three years.
"I like how everybody can dribble the ball so we all get to score," he said.
Landon Young, 7, is a first-grader at Seymour Elementary School and said he likes playing basketball with his friends.
"You can play almost every single quarter," he said.
"From a competitive standpoint, it's really about sportsmanship and learning the games," said the church's pastor, Terry Bates, 36. "Instead of being so focused on winning, it's about learning and improving. I think most people leave the gymnasium on Saturday feeling they did good."
His family is in the process of moving from Grand Rapids to Flushing.
His children, Corbin, 10, and Sutton, 7, play basketball in an Upward program in Grand Rapids.
"You take a group of seven or eight kids who don't already know each other, and after a few months, these kids not only know each other but start making connections outside of Upward," Bates said.
"I've witnessed friendships being formed."
The first Upward game of the season was Jan. 17, and the last one is March 7. The program ends with an awards banquet, which was attended by about 400 people last year.
A motivational speaker is scheduled for the banquet this year.
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Upward Unlimited is a non-profit organization that partners with local evangelical churches to provide resources and training for conducting children’s sports ministry. Upward Basketball, Upward Cheerleading, Upward Soccer, and Upward Flag Football are all ministry programs of Upward Unlimited.