Over 100 Youths Turn Out for Annual Rose Classic

Easter break in Belize isn’t all rest and relaxation. For hundreds of young athletes, it’s time to put in work on the basketball court. Now in its eighteenth year, the Belize Rose Classic Youth Basketball Camp continues to bring together players from across the country. Led by Belizean‑American Cleon Hyde, the camp has grown from a small effort to keep kids off the streets into a national development program built on discipline, teamwork, and mentorship. With support from Nike, participants receive gear and structured training designed to build both skills and character. News Five spoke with Hyde about why he keeps coming back, and what this year’s camp means for Belize’s next generation of ballers.

 

Cleon Hyde, President, Rose Classic Basketball

“I’m celebrating my eighteenth year in Belize and what we’re doing a showcase of high school boys and girls. And we had a nice turnout of over a hundred kids. And so far today we’re closing out our session. And so far it’s been going pretty good, I must say. Happy to see, it’s happy to see the results of what’s going on with so many kids.”

 

Shane Williams

“Tell us about why this is important for you. You keep coming back every year.”

 

Cleon Hyde

“I started out, like I said, as a test run, and the first one was successful. So it became easy because it’s a passion. It’s not something I’m doing for like money or nothing like that. Have a good relationship with all the kids. And I’m talking about from 2007, the likes of Devin Daly, he was one of my main players. Coope Lopez. Sherwin Garcia, all these guys that are now doing great things for themselves,  so it gives me that pleasure to know that I made an impact in their life for so many years doing basketball. Every kid is fully uniformed. You get your top and your bottoms. And for the awards, the winning team, you’ll get a t-shirt, you get a cap, you get a medal.”

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

Watch the full newscast here: