MACON, Ga. — When Macon-Bibb fire captain Kelvin D. Watson got the call years ago to help keep kids on the court for Thanksgiving break, he didn't think twice.
"For the last six years we've noticed that in our community, especially Macon- Bibb County, during the summer time [and] the holiday times [that] kids mostly between seven and 15 have been getting in a lot of trouble during the day," Watson said.
So, to fight that fire, he volunteers at the L.H. Williams Recreation Center.
"What we're doing here is keeping them out of the house, keeping them up with their daily routine because, you think about it, at this time of day, they're in school, being active, doing something," Watson said.
Watson says, while they learn basketball skills, they also get to learn social skills.
"It kinda takes them away from social media. For the next two hours, they're not texting," he said.
The basketball practices also helps keep the kids' momentum up, so they don't face a penalty come Monday.
"Next week when they go back to school, they won't be sluggish and feel like they have to hit a reset button and start over," Watson said.
There's no set schedule for Thanksgiving break on when they will hold the basketball practices, but the local basketball coaches do well coordinating them.
The L.H Williams Recreation Center is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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