NORFOLK, Va. — Maybe you wouldn't be able to tell from his age or size, but spend one minute talking to 9-year-old Odell Ward, and it's easy to tell he's got big dreams.
"First time I picked up a basketball I was at 1 year old," he said.
So it makes sense that Monday afternoon, you could find Ward working on his craft at the newly installed "Dream Court" in the Berkley neighborhood of Norfolk.
"I want to be like Kobe and dunk like him when I’m big," Odell said.
Monday, the city unveiled the transformation of an older existing basketball court into a "Dream Court," as part of a partnership between Nancy Lieberman Charities, the Southside Boys and Girls Club and donations from Old Dominion University alumni.
The renovated court sports a newly installed floor and new baskets, just as schools have let out for summer vacation.
“For a lot of them, this is the only time they've seen an inside-type court that's at a college or NBA level, outside of television,” Norfolk Police Captain Renato Aponte said.
Its new look plays bigger than just the game of basketball. Captain Aponte said small differences like this can change communities. He said there are three elements to crime: a victim, suspect and opportunity. Aponte said that a newly renovated court for kids creates an avenue for the city to remove negative opportunities for children.
"This is open 24 hours a day, something to dream about. When we take our youth and put them in these situations, it keeps them away from violent crimes," Captain Aponte said.
"Sports, music, entertainment, it all brings people together. So we’ll see families here," City of Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander said.
Preventing youth violence was top of mind across the region Monday.
Hours later across the water in Newport News, Attorney General Jason Miyares toured the Boys and Girls Club of the Virginia Peninsula for a meeting on youth violence prevention.
"One of the things that’s been shared, and I’ve heard this before, but for young teenagers, there’s this overwhelming sense of belonging and want to be able to have identity. The reality is that if kids don't have groups like the Boys and Girls club, they could find that identity and belonging tragically with gang and gang-related activity," Miyares said.