In his high school years, Heath Proffitt, 36, was in the best shape of his life playing varsity football for Douglas Freeman High School. Now with job and family responsibilities, he's still in great shape because he and his friends do their cardio with basketball.
"I tried running and it didn't do it for me," says Proffitt, a medical device salesman. "For me whenever you can incorporate some sort of game, it's more interesting."
Well, as everyone knows, the best games are played with teams, and the best teams are made up of your friends. That's why this summer Proffitt and his old high school football friends Scott Fisher and Steve Roberts will be running and gunning as Team Cobra Tri at the newest Richmond event organized by Sports Backers, the U.S. Army 3 on 3 Summer Hoops basketball festival which will be held on the Dominion Resources Campus at Innsbrook Office Park on July 26-27.
"If anything, it will be a good opportunity to get together and get some exercise," adds team captain Fisher, who has joined with Proffitt and Roberts in biweekly league play over the past several years. "Endurance-wise, the half-court format helps us stay with the younger players."
As teams are coming from around the city and will be divided by age and skill brackets, the U.S. Army 3 on 3 Summer Hoops is a great way for basket ballers to see how they rate when they get off their home court and into the mix with guys or gals their own age.
"We might have to use brains more than brawn," chuckles Proffitt, who will bring his family along to join in the basketball festival atmosphere that will include the CarMax Contest Court where players and spectators can enter a three-point shot contest, dribble skills contests, a foul shot contest, and the Best Buy Slam Dunk contest that will feature prizes from Best Buy. Spectators and or players will also have the chance to be chosen to win free Chick-fil-A for a year if they can make a lay-up, free-throw and half-court toss in less than 30 seconds.
Andy Parsons, 17, is also looking forward to the U.S. Army 3 on 3 Summer Hoops. A varsity basketball player on last year's Mills Godwin High School team, Parsons will play on Team Ty, Donny and Andy with his friends Tyler Graham and Donzel Bartee. They played junior varsity together and hope to all make the varsity team in the coming season.
"I've never played in a 3-on-3 tournament," says Parsons, who at 6'4" is the big man for the day. "I'm the big guy and they're good dribblers, so it will be fun for us to try it that way."
With a family friendly off-court atmosphere of food, music and interactive fun and on-court atmosphere of good competition and good sportsmanship, the U.S. Army 3 on 3 Summer Hoops is set to grow into a great summer sporting tradition for adults, teens, tweens and young kids alike.
Curtis Cooper, 9, is going into fourth grade at Twin Hickory Elementary School in Glen Allen. Not only is he happy that his favorite team the Celtics won the championship, but he's looking forward to playing on Team MVPs with this friends Billy Broughton, Spencer Pesetti and Jack Sweeney. The four met as rivals in the Glen Allen Youth Association basketball league this winter and this tournament is giving them a chance to combine their talents and connect over the game they love. "We're practicing at the Shady Grove YMCA," says Cooper.
The U.S. Army Summer Hoops 3 on 3 has plenty of room for more teams. Sign up at www.sportsbackers.org.