Like any parent who wants his or her kids to get better at anything, Sun Valley resident Kyle Sela, the Wood River Middle School boys basketball head coach, wanted his kids, Bear and Case, to go to a court—in this case, the Hemingway STEAM School basketball court in Ketchum—to practice some shots.
However, Bear and Case raised concerns—not about practicing, but the court at Hemingway.
“They said, ‘Dad, we can’t [practice]. The course is in terrible shape,’” Sela said. “It was such a mess. The concrete is cracked and the hoops are rusted.”
Seeing the problem, Sela thought of ideas to fix the court right away.
“It’s something that could be easily rectified with community involvement,” he said. “With me being the basketball coach, I felt it was something that could be done without having to jump through a ton of hoops.”
“The only full-sized outdoor basketball [court] in Ketchum and Sun Valley is in serious disrepair,” the fundraiser states.
Sela said he hopes to raise $75,000 by the middle of May for a new plastic composite surface in addition to four hoops (two main ones as well as side hoops for practice while a full-court game might occur) with glass backboards. The surface would have a 16-year warranty. The project needs a $30,000 deposit.
“If we do it, we might as well do it right and make it a great place to play,” Sela said. “Let’s make it a place where anybody in the community can go down and use the court. Let’s make it something that’s attractive and people want to enjoy.”
Additionally, Sela said, the court would help build a better basketball culture across the Wood River Valley.
“The sport has a low barrier to entry,” he said. “There are no financial barriers [to playing basketball]. If a kid has a pair of shoes and a ball, they can play by themselves or with their friends.” 
