The Clinton Recreation Department does many activities and reaches many people in many areas. But we cannot do what we do without the help we receive from our volunteers and our part time employees. To recognize the contributions of those folks, we want to take some time each month in 2009 to shine a spotlight on them and to make others aware of the contributions we receive from the community for the community.
This month’s spotlights are: Roy “Bam” Boykin Jr. and J.P. Lilliston.
Sampson Community Recreation Center, also known as "the Block", has had it's share of young men and women come through over the years, but it's the people who come back to give back that are making a difference in lives in the community. Roy Boykin is a 41 year old city resident who grew up at "the Block". Tim Boykin, Sampson Center Director, remembers seeing Roy or "Bam" at the Block when he was growing up. Bam was a few years older, but Tim remembers him as a "down to earth kind of guy." Bam still lives in the neighborhood and he works for DOT during the day, but many evenings, he is back at the Block helping lead young people down a good path.
Bam has been helping at the Block by coaching basketball team for middle school and high school teams. For the past four years he has coached a team in each division and he is doing it again this year. Although he has children of his own, they have aged out of the recreation program, yet Bam still offers his time and talent as a volunteer. And he doesn't just help with basketball. Bam helps with all the activities at the center that raise money for the children. He has helped chaperone dances and other fund raisers like the ones last spring to take kids to King's Dominion.
When asked about his motivation for volunteering, Bam said, "I just like giving back to the community." He said he keeps coming back, year after year, not only to teach children the fundamentals of basketball, but to help keep them on the right track. The children at Sampson Center look up to Bam, to many he is a hero. His heroes when he was growing he says were his parents, "They kept me on the right path."
As one of the many children who passed through the doors of the Block, Tim Boykin feels a kinship and gratitude for Roy "Bam" Boykin. Tim says "Bam is one of those people I can always turn to when I need help, he's one of those volunteers I can always depend on."
One of the reasons the Clinton Recreation Department was founded was to give young people in the community an outlet for their energy. The department's athletic division has been such an outlet for nearly fifty years. Athletic Director, Jerry Herring, grew up playing ball with the "rec department" and he coached for the department as his children came up too. With his responsibilities as AD, Jerry is constantly on the look out for a few good men and women to fill the shoes of those who came before him and those who will come after. One of those people is John "J.P." Lilliston. J.P. became a volunteer coach just as Jerry was hired by the department. He started as a baseball coach and he has coached everything except volleyball since then.
J.P. is a 34 year old ball player from way back. He grew up in Joppatowne, Maryland playing recreation ball and he has a long list of successes starting back in his recreation playing days. "We won the city championship 8 years running when I was playing." J.P. remembers. He went on to play varsity baseball and basketball at Joppatowne High School and he played 2 years of baseball for Greensboro College.
Now J.P., a 15 year employee with 84 Lumber, is settled in Clinton where he and his wife, Krista, spend many evenings coaching or cheering on their son Jordan as he follows in his dad's footsteps by playing rec sports. Often, J.P. is the head coach for his sons' teams and his son plays everything: baseball, basketball, soccer and football. When asked about his son playing so many sports, J.P. said he feels it is important for a child to try more than one sport. "The principles of one sport applies to the others. In basketball, on defense, you teach a kid to get low to defend. In football, on defense, you teach a kid to get low and the same thing in baseball. If you have your child only playing one sport, they are only developing muscles in those areas (for that sport)."
J.P. has started doing more than just coaching for the department, he has now started officiating basketball for us as well. He volunteered help out during football season when we were short on officials and he did such a good job, we asked him to consider being a basketball official. "It's different being an official." J.P. said, "I enjoy it. It's different on the other side of the whistle. I think every youth coach should have to officiate at least once. They would get a new respect for what the officials have to do."
When asked about J.P., Jerry said, "He has opinions and ideas and he brings those to the department. We have used a number of his suggestions." Assistant Athletic Director, Larry Richardson said "I thought J.P. was crazy, I thought he was wound too tight. But the more I saw him, the more I realized he was trying to teach the kids... he was trying to teach them all."
One experience that really sticks out in J.P.'s mind happened a few years ago. "Robbie King and I had just started coaching a travel baseball team and we had entered our first tournament. We lost 27 - 2 in two innings." Instead of letting that discourage them, they went back to work knowing where their team was weakest. They worked on those areas, focusing on fundamentals working hard to improve over all. "Now, when we go to a tournament, we know we can compete." Although he readily admits, he doesn't coach to lose, he also says, "you are only as good as your weakest link." and that is why he coaches all the kids on his teams. "I enjoy watching the children grow and develop. There's nothing like teaching a kid how to do something (a skill) and the next day, seeing them do it. I get a lot of personal gratification from giving kids an opportunity to learn the fundamentals."
Giving kids an opportunity is why this department was started. Because of men like J.P. and Bam, children are still getting those opportunities and on their behalf and for ourselves we say "Thanks, Bam and thanks J.P.!" from all of us at Clinton Recreation Department, the spotlight is on you.
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