Tennis great Zina Garrison joined Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis on Friday, Aug. 2 to offer words of encouragement to about 2,500 Houston-area youth who competed for medals at the 33rd annual Harris County Street Olympics Final Event at NRG Arena.

Carrying on the tradition started by the late Commissioner El Franco Lee, Garrison, a former Olympian, and Commissioner Ellis led the Parade of Champions, which featured marching bands from Westbury High School and Austin High School followed by athletes from participating youth agencies walking behind homemade banners representing their youth centers.

“We want to continue following the footsteps of Commissioner Lee, who had a vision more than 30 years ago to develop a summer program that provides a safe and enriching experience for youth,” Ellis said. “When I look at these young children today, I know there’s even more of a need now than it was in 1986. So, my dear friend, we will continue your model of using sports as a way to teach youth about the game of life.”

The daylong Final Event, which marked the end of the eight-weeklong Summer Games, included the Bright Futures Fair and competition in events such as kickball, free throw, foot races, spelling bee, chess and art. The top-three finishers in each age group received gold, silver and bronze medals that were awarded on an Olympic-style podium.

Demetreck Hayes, 7, of Pleasantville Park, who won the gold in the free throw contest in his age category, said he worked hard throughout the summer to finish on top. “I practice every day on my dribbling, shooting and free throws,” he said.

Daveon Jones, 13, who competed for Lincoln Park Community Center in the 3-point shootout, said he has participated in Street Olympics since he was 8 years old.

“It was great,” Daveon said. “It’s good to meet other friends. I look forward to coming here for the competition and great experience.”

Throughout the summer, about 3,000 athletes at 120 participating agencies’ sites competed to represent their youth centers at the Final Event. The free Summer Games, one of the major components of the nonprofit Street Olympics, involved nearly two months of recreational and educational activities.

The Summer Games and other year-round programs support the Street Olympics mission to implement and sustain programs that provide training, support and resources that lead to healthy and productive lives for youth. Serving approximately 3,000 children and teens, Street Olympics summer programming fulfils a critical need in Houston. Studies have shown that without access to affordable, high-quality summer programming, working families lack safe and enriching places for their children to attend while parents are at work.

Another Summer Games program is 3-on-3 Basketball. For five weeks, more than 500 boys and girls – ages 7 to 17 – at neighborhood youth agencies competed in 3-on-3 Basketball. On July 17 and 18 at the City of Houston’s Fonde Recreation Center, about 300 players vied for trophies in the 3-on-3 Championship Tournament. Through practice and competition, the youth developed their confidence and leadership skills, which will serve them well both on and off the court.

“It was very competitive,” said Julius Crosby, 14, whose Finnigan Youth Education Town (YET) team finished second in the tournament in its age group. “Overall, it was fun and a great experience.”

Julius said the game taught him how to work as a team with other players, something he can apply to life. “I can use that because working as a team (in basketball) is the same thing as working with your business workers,” he said.

On July 26, about 150 boys and girls ages 6 to 18 – most of whom recently learned how to swim – competed in Splashdown, a Harris County Aquatics Program (HCAP)-sponsored meet. The annual meet features children who participated in the free Learn-to-Swim program directed by HCAP, which operates year-round to teach youth a lifesaving skill.

Amiya Henderson, 13, who participates in the swimming program at Attucks Middle School, said she has been involved in HCAP lessons for three years.

“I met a lot of friends here,” Amiya said. “We worked a lot on teamwork. Like if someone is behind and they are not understanding, we always help each other out and encourage them to do better. We just really bonded.”

Throughout the summer, youth also attended two Discovery Camps at Deussen Park and Challenger Seven Learning Center, both of which taught children about nature and the environment.

Commissioner Lee started the Street Olympics in 1986 to implement and sustain programs that provide training, support and resources for youth. The Summer Games program, which has grown from about 200 youth to about 3,000 this summer, has expanded to year-round activities that address social service, health care, educational and vocational needs.

“Three decades of doing the Street Olympics is really about kids who would not have the opportunity if not for a program like this,” Commissioner Ellis said. “That’s why it’s important not just to keep what Franco built but to expand it.”

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Photo captions (from left to right):

Demetreck Hayes, 7, of Pleasantville Park shoots free throws to win gold at the Street Olympics Final Event.

Girls compete in the 100-yard dash at the Harris County Street Olympics Final Event.

Tennis great Zina Garrison, left, and Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis lead the Parade of Champions at the Harris County Street Olympics Final Event.

Audrey Dorr, 10, left, Johnny Kuang, 12, and Breana Garner, 10, all of Cherryhurst Park Community Center, carry the Olympic flame at the Street Olympics Final Event.

Matala Idi, left, Harris County Precinct One’s interim director of Community Engagement, prepares to place first-place medal on Demetreck Hayes, 7, of Pleasantville Park, who won the free throw contest in his age category. Angel Contreras, center, of Ripley House, placed third.