Giddings youth learning life skills through basketball

Lone Star High School Southeast Mustangs basketball team

By David N. Krough, TJJD Communications —

There’s a lot more to just winning games when it comes to sports for youth at TJJD.

The boys on the Lone Star High School Southeast Mustangs basketball team will attest that the taste of victory is sweet, but they are racking up bigger wins in life by finding hope and opportunity during a challenging time in their life. The youth say they are building discipline, self-confidence and learning to accomplish goals through teamwork.

Last Friday night, the Mustangs took on Covenant Christian Cougars from Conroe at the Intermediate School in Giddings.

Giddings teacher and Coach Tyrum Curry said at the outset the team was 2-4 for the season.

Curry has been teaching and coaching for 25 years and for the past year has been coaching the track, football and basketball teams at the Giddings State Juvenile Correctional Facility.

He said he was pleasantly surprised to find the opportunities youth at TJJD have for extracurricular sports.

Lone Star High School Southeast Mustangs basketball team in a huddle with the coach.

“They said ‘we’re going to be playing private schools (and) parochial schools,’” he recalled. “I said they don’t mind playing us? ‘Not at all.’ So, I was kind of shocked by that … I never would have guessed that this world existed.”

Curry, who spent most of his teaching career as a public school administrator in Galveston, says a lot of the TJJD boys had never played any organized basketball until this season. Staying flexible, he’s found, is the key to keeping the team going, with lineups often changing due to youth coming and going from the facility, periodic injuries and sometimes, discipline issues.

“I think I might have started the same lineup maybe twice this year,” he said. “We’ve just got to be flexible. Most people only play one year, one and done. It’s an incentive program.”

“The main thing is them getting home,” Curry said, and helping them stay out of trouble while they’re at TJJD. “If we win every game, that’s great. If we lose every game, that’s OK too.”

Setting an example for the other youth is one of the most positive results of the sports programs, Curry says.

Basketball player shooting the ball.

“I promote our programs whether it’s football, basketball, or track as we do all three … to all the kids, especially the ones who get in trouble,” he said. The youth see the benefits of being in sports, such as getting to have those restaurant dinners after games and they want to get off campus and be on the team.

The Mustangs started the first quarter down against the Cougars but rallied to take the lead and keep it until the half, breaking a tied score with a buzzer-beating mid-court shot. Youth on the bench and the fans in the stands erupted in cheers and so did the coach.

Curry doesn’t hold back in his enthusiasm and is clearly a motivating force for his players.

“A lot of our kids come with a lot of trauma … so sometimes I’ll tell them, my voice is going to get loud,” he said. “I’m probably going to be fussing during the game and fussing after the game, but bottom line is we’re just trying to meet our team goals, trying to win, trying to do the right thing … try to be an example for our school.”

The Mustangs were able to hold onto their lead until the Cougars tied up the game 32-32 with five minutes left. Another three-point shot by Mustang N.D. gave them a tight lead going into the fourth at 41-40.

Despite the Mustang’s hustle, a combination of missed free throws and a couple three-pointers by Covenant overcame the Giddings team in the end by ten points; the score 49-59.

Youth from both teams showed good sportsmanship, respecting each other’s space on the court and the traditional “good game” reception line after the clock ran out. 

The Mustangs often get positive feedback from their officials as well as their opponents.

Basketball players jumping for the ball.

“Officials come tell me ‘(these are) the best-behaved kids I’ve seen,” Curry says. “I’m really proud of them about that and I let him know. Everywhere we go the officials comment on (their) good sportsmanship and how well (they) react.”

N.D. is one of the more experienced players and said he has been on basketball teams since middle school. He said his goal is to go to college and stay with the sport.

“I had offers from TCU before my situation, but you know, things happen,” he said. “I love my team. Some of them haven’t played basketball and some of them (are) not as much used to the game as I am, so I just have got to deal with it and show them how the game is supposed to be played, the simple fundamentals of basketball. I feel like there’s no other team more athletic than us.”

It’s also R.C.’s first time on a high school team, but he sees it as more of a way to stay out of trouble and provide some structure for his life after time with TJJD.

“All we do is play basketball every week, so I got good at it,” he said. “I need something to keep me out of trouble so I keep my head focused. This was it.”

R.C. said in his regular school he would have likely never been attracted to sports. Taking part in team activities has helped him focus on getting his GED and then a good job when he leaves Giddings.

“It feels good to do something positive (and) do something that you’ve never done before,” he said. “It’s just pushing me and everything … to have good behavior to be on the team, just in every way, discipline … working as a team, working together.”

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