Court-Ordered Basketball

by Emeli Warren, Sales & Marketing Coordinator

Rather than sentence them to juvenile prison, taking away their opportunity to continue learning in a safe environment, Tennessee’s Carroll Academy, located in Huntingdon (100 miles east of Memphis and 100 miles west of Nashville) gives their “troubled” students a way to get their lives back.

In Huntingdon, Tennessee, drug use is the norm. The New York Times provides figures from the Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force (TMTF): "Tennessee had more methamphetamine-lab seizures in 2010 than any other state," and "Carroll County, with 18 seizures in a population of about 28,000, had about twice as many per capita as the rest of the state." In fact, the state has one of the highest numbers of prescriptions per capita in the country, including the sixth-highest percentage of prescription medication abuse among its youth, according to the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH).

Carroll Academy wants to change the paths of the youth in the area, steering them away from the drug-controlled lives they could—and usually do—lead. The academy is made up of 80 students and is operated by the Carroll County Juvenile Court in collaboration with the Department of Children’s Services (DCS). There is a court-ordered Adolescent Intensive Day Treatment Program (IDTP) as part of the agency as well as court-ordered basketball. Yes, sports are required.

The New York Times has done a five-part story on 2012's basketball team, made up of nine girls ages 13–17. Three of the girls had been kicked out of their homes on a zero-tolerance policy after they stole prescription drugs from their parents and brought them to school. A few of the girls were habitual truants, and others had violent backgrounds; at least one had an alcohol dependency. To attend the academy (and keep them out of juvie) the girls have to participate on the basketball team. To participate on the basketball team, they have to stay drug free. Just within the time that the Times reporter was writing his articles, two of the girls were put on house arrest for the weekend because of marijuana use—even their parents would be in violation of court if they wandered. The girls were also suspended from their game the night the drug tests came back positive—but none of them would be kicked out of Carroll Academy.

But those who run the academy are aware that just basketball won't be enough to keep the girls on track—the team coach and the school’s security director have acted as positive influences and leaders for the girls and other students. Tonya Lutz had never had any previous coaching experience, but reassures her players that it’s not about winning the game as long as the girls are kept out of trouble and learn the value of being part of a team. The security director, Patrick Steele, used to be a "troubled kid" as well, so he empathizes with the students at the academy. But that doesn't mean he goes easy on them; he is known for making students do calisthenics in the hallways as a form of punishment.

The team has lost almost every game they've ever played (tallying up to 184 consecutive games), but that won’t halt the program. "If I looked out and I could see in their eyes that they're depressed about losing, and hated to come out here, it wouldn’t be worth it," says Randy Hatch, the school's administrator. "But they put it behind them quicker than anybody."
These students are being shown what it is like to have someone believe in them. By ending up on the basketball court instead of the juvenile court, they participate in a program that gives them a second chance—keeping them safe, teaching them valuable lessons, and showing them that they can trust and rely on their fellow human beings for support. And that may make the all the difference between a life fulfilled and a life of ruin.