POLICE HOOPS PROGRAM SEEKS KIDS FOR CAMPS

When Roger Fields was a boy, he stacked straw and collected bottles for recycling to scrape together enough money to attend one of Ron Shumate's basketball camps at Southeast Missouri State University.

Now, as a Cape Girardeau police officer, Fields wants to offer an opportunity to the city's youth to take part in a similar program, in an environment which would allow boys to meet police officers in a non-threatening manner.

The result of Fields efforts is the upcoming "Hoopin' It Up with 5-0 at SEMO '93" mini-basketball camp, which will be held Dec. 30 at the Student Rec Center at the university.

But organizers of the event, which include representatives of the Cape Girardeau Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Cape Girardeau Civic Center, the Division of Youth Services, Southeast Missouri State University and Boatmen's Bank, are having some trouble recruiting participants for the one-day camp.

About 30 applications and waivers have been turned into the police department or the civic center thus far. Organizers were hoping for at least 70.

Fields and other members of the planning committee have been hitting the streets, asking kids to sign up for the camp.

The camp will begin with registration at 8 a.m., followed by a 45-minute orientation session conducted by uniformed members of the police department. Officers will speak briefly about drugs and traffic safety.

Then the officers will change out of their uniforms and into sweats and shorts, as the boys are led through drills by members of the university basketball team.

During the drills, Fields hopes for a cameo appearance from Indians' head coach Ron Shumate.

After lunch, the group will be broken up into teams which will participate in a round-robin basketball tournament.

At a planning meeting Thursday, organizers decided that a police officer will play on each team.

"This camp will give officers an opportunity to deal with youth on a whole different level," said Fields. "Instead of asking a kid on the streets, `aren't you so-and-so's kid,' which could reflect negatively on the boy, we can say, `didn't I play ball with you?'"

The winners of the mini-tournament will be awarded new basketballs. Every boy who attends will receive a T-shirt and a DARE package, containing anti-drug information and gift certification to local restaurants.

Also at the close of the day, a random drawing will be held for gift certificates and other prizes donated by area businesses.

Fields said the program targets boys ages 12 to 16 because those are the youth the police department typically has the most contact with on the streets.

The boys are also at an impressionable age when they are on the verge of making life decisions, Fields said.

"I honestly believe that if a kid has just one person to look up, that the contact with the person can determine who he plays his hand in life," said Fields.

"This camp is an opportunity for the kids to see that police officers are real people too; that we're not out to get them or their family members," he said. "I think we can both stand to learn something from each other."

During the course of Thursday's meeting, one of the boys who plays basketball at the Civic Center was brought into the police department and jailed. His coach, who is a member of the planning committee, watched the young man enter the cell block.

"That's the kind of thing we're trying to prevent right there," he said.

The camp is free and open to boys ages 12-16, who do not play organized basketball in school. Applications and waiver forms can be picked up at the Cape Girardeau Police Department, at 40 S. Sprigg, or the Cape Girardeau Civic Center, at 232 Broadway. Applications are due Dec. 10.

If more than 70 applications are received, participants will be chosen randomly and notified by mail.

For more information, contact Sgt. Carl Kinnison at the Cape Girardeau Police Department, at 335-6621.