Sports Extra: Pounding the pavement

Consider the usual hustle and bustle around the Rose Quarter on event nights. What would you have if, instead of the usual hubbub, the event was spread across the outdoor area and featured dozens of half-court setups with hundreds of three-person squads vying for bragging rights while also raising money for a good cause? You would have Street Jam.

Hosted annually by Special Olympics Oregon [SOOR]for the past seven years, Street Jam is a collaboration between corporate sponsors and the Portland Trail Blazers. Teams of up to five players enter for a $125 fee to compete in a tournament with divisions set up by age, gender, height and skill level, and division champs receive medals.

This year, 59 divisions comprising nearly 500 teams filled out tournament play, and individuals also had the opportunity to enter in a dunk contest and three-point shootout. On both Friday and Saturday, about 1,000 spectators were spread out watching the various courts and visiting sponsor booths.

Ryan Watt, Special Olympics Oregon development director, said the goal was to raise $50,000 and he is optimistic that this year’s Street Jam reached that mark. He said this year—his fifth with the event—was a success and that he felt the community vibe SOOR hoped to create had been established.

“It’s been a couple of nice days and people are having fun,” Watt said. “I’m thankful for our sponsors and especially our volunteers…the medical staff are volunteers from OHSU [Oregon Health and Science University] and they’re a huge help to have on site.”

LouAnne Tabada, volunteer director for SOOR who has participated in each Street Jam, said there were roughly 500 volunteers on hand for the span of the event, with about 100 volunteer coordinators, referees and scorekeepers working each shift. She said this year’s Street Jam was similar in size and attendance to last year’s.

“We like to see it grow each time we do it, and I think it’ll keep growing,” Tabada said. “It’s a lot of fun, we get a lot of friendly staff to come out.”

The next Street Jam is scheduled for July 29–31, 2011. SOOR will next participate in the Bite of Oregon, happening this weekend.

A team’s perspective

A second-year Street Jam squad, Portland’s Finest, brought two big advantages to the tournament—literally. Jordan Oathes and captain Brett Corbett stood above most of the other players at the event, and their size was matched by their hustle. They played in the men’s elite division and, after getting bumped in the second round last year, they brought a healthy desire to win this year.

During the round-robin stage, they won a pair and lost another, but it was enough to place them in the semifinals. They handily defeated their competition to earn a spot in the men’s elite final, a new level for Portland’s Finest.

“I think there’s been some good competition here so far, and I’m excited for the final round,” Oathes said after their semifinal victory.

They squared off against the ORYGunners, a team with four wins in the round robin. Their early lead was threatened and even overtaken a few times during the first 12 minutes of play, but after pulling ahead late, they kept their lead as Portland’s Finest began to foul intentionally to stop the clock, followed by desperation two-pointers that couldn’t get them back on top.

Matt Smith of ORYGunners said he enjoyed Street Jam and that he will participate again next year.

“It feels good that we won,” Smith said. “They [Portland’s Finest] were a competitive opponent, a bit bigger than us and very smart players.”

Corbett, with a wry grin, recalled former Trail Blazer Rasheed Wallace’s words after a tough defeat by saying “both teams played hard.”

“We got knockout out in the semifinals last year and the finals this year, so it’s just a progression, right? We’ll come back and win it next year,” Corbett said.

A family’s perspective

Scott Henderson participated in the three-point shootout, barely making it to the main court in time for the final qualifying round. He had been coaching his daughter Alisha Henderson’s squad, Team Concept, which competed in the youth women’s division.

Henderson arrived at the last possible moment for his turn in the shootout and managed to score 11 out of 20 possible points to qualify for the semifinal, which cut the crowd of 10 down to four. He scored six points to be pitted against the final contestant, though he ultimately came in second place.

“My daughter says, ‘Let ‘er fly, let ‘er rip,’ so that’s what I do,” Scott said just before the final round. Immediately after the shootout, he returned to his daughter’s team and prepared for their final game against the Raisins, last year’s division champs.

Team Concept grabbed an early lead and hung onto it tightly, scrapping for every loose ball and even tumbling to the pavement while lunging for steals and rebounds. Despite angry catcalls from parents of the Raisins at the refs, Team Concept kept their cool to prevail as division champs.

When asked about playing at Street Jam, Alisha said she enjoyed it and that she’ll be back next year.

“I’ve been playing since fifth grade, and it’s been a really fun weekend,” she said. “I can’t wait to do this again.”