Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 24, 1990 TAG: 9007240484
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ELLIE SCHAFFZIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It's not a likely place for a grandmother to be on a Friday morning, but Ross seems right at home.
After a word with Ross, coach Roland Lovelace blows a whistle and within moments the basketballs are still - and so are the 108 children sitting in a semicircle. Ross remains on the sidelines, but there's no doubt who's in charge.
"Mrs. Ross is the foundation, the backbone. Without her - no camp," said Lovelace, one of four coaches who work summers at the basketball camp at Lucy Addison Middle School in Roanoke.
The CORD basketball camp - for Community Organization for Research and Development - was founded by Ross and her son-in-law, Virginia Tech basketball coach Frankie Allen. Allen approached his mother-in-law, who works as a community developer, about the need for such a camp 16 years ago.
At the time, Allen was head coach at a high school in Charlottesville, and he spent his summers as director of the camp until he began to work at Tech. The camp was started with the help of Ross' agency, the Southwest Virginia Community Development Fund.
Since then, Ross has solicited donations from a variety of organizations and businesses - sodas from the Blue Ridge Beverage Co., equipment from CMT Sporting Goods.
The camp has a pair of two-week sessions, with activities from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each weekday. The cost is $20 per session, but Ross says they often help out kids who can't come up with the fee.
The campers - boys and girls between the ages 8 and 16 - come from everywhere from the city of Roanoke to Franklin County. The diversity among the children was one reason Roanoke County resident Steve Padgett chose to send his sons to the camp.
"It wasn't even as much athletic as the chance to be out there and meet some new kids," Padgett said.
Coach Mike Franklin said the kids find a mutual friend in the sport of basketball.
"We try to put a strong emphasis on learning basketball and getting along with each other . . . You don't need to only be a good ballplayer, but also a good citizen," he said.
Ross said the children learn more than basketball skills from the games, guest speakers, drills and videos. She said they learn self-discipline and the importance of playing fair. Most importantly, she said, the kids have something to do in the summer.
"That was basically our main reason to set up this camp: keep them off the streets," she said.
Ross also said the children can find role models and big brothers in the four coaches and their nine assistants - all rising high school seniors who have been through the camp.
Merl Code, 16, of Greenville, S.C., has been attending the camp since he first came to Roanoke to stay with cousins when he was 6. Now he's an assistant coach.
Kia Manning, 14, said she wouldn't be doing much of anything if she didn't go to camp. She said there's nothing strange about being one of only eight girls at the camp, because she plays the same as the boys. She enjoys learning dribbling techniques and expects to get a "player of the day" award before the session is over.
Ryann Hubbard, 8, is probably the shortest camper, though Hubbard was less than precise when asked just how tall he was. He described himself as "3-something." He insists, though, that this doesn't keep him from playing ball as well as the others.
"You try your hardest. I can shoot three-pointers," he said.
Bryann said he probably would be inside playing Nintendo games if it weren't for the camp. He likes to be coached by his brother, "Champ," 17, and he said he also looks up to Ross.
"She's great. She don't take anything from anybody," he said.
Ross shrugs off the tough image.
"I am in charge, but I don't think I'm tough. . . . I just want everything to be done in the right manner," she said.
So far, she thinks things have been going right, and is especially glad to see how her campers have grown as they come back summer after summer. She said she thinks it is important that the kids have the camp to look forward to each year.
Ross, who insisted she is "Jack Benny's age," said she "may have made a couple of hoops," but she is not a basketball player.
"No. I just love the game. I'm a real, real basketball fan," she said.
by CNB