wfn.org | 'Gym of dreams' comes true in downtown Minneapolis

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2001-186

'Gym of dreams' comes true in downtown Minneapolis

by Susan Barksdale

     (ENS) Minnesota Timberwolves guard Malik Sealy died on May 20, 2000. But his 
dreams--and those of all the other kids who have shot baskets in driveways and 
schoolyards--live on in downtown Minneapolis at the Malik Sealy Gym of Dreams at 
the Church of Gethsemane.

     On Saturday, April 7, more than 200 people, including Minneapolis Mayor 
Sharon Sayles Belton, Timberwolves players and coaches, volunteers, and Sealy's 
brother, wife, and son gathered at the church to dedicate the renovated gymnasium 
that once served as a practice site for the Minneapolis Lakers basketball team, 
to Sealy's memory--and as a resource to the neighboring community. 

     The basement gym at Gethsemane had lain largely unused since the Lakers 
moved to Los Angeles. Then Gethsemane rector Sandye Wilson began inviting 
children in from the homeless shelter next door to hang out and to shoot baskets. 
She convinced both the vestry and the administrators of the shelter that the gym 
should be renovated to provide a safe place for the neighborhood kids to play.

     Just over a year ago, volunteers from the parish, kids from the shelter, and 
members of the Minnesota Vikings gathered at Gethsemane for National Care for 
Kids Day, April 21--the first anniversary of the school shootings at Columbine 
High School in Colorado.

     Coach Dennis Green of the Vikings presented Wilson with a check for $2500 to 
serve as seed money for renovation of the gym. Other contributions were received 
as a result of news coverage.

     Work began, with help from church and neighborhood volunteers and from Grace 
in Action, a men's service group from Grace Lutheran Church in Edina. The dream 
was to finish the project in one year.

Help from a "griot"	

     Then, Wilson was invited to dinner at the home of parishioners who had also 
invited their next door neighbors--Mayor Belton and her husband.

     In the African community, Wilson says, there is a person called a "griot"--
the one who goes out and tells the story. "The mayor was our griot," she adds. 
"She told our story all around town." The story was heard by United Way, by the 
Park and Recreation Board, by various corporations, and then by Target and the 
Timberwolves. Target Center, home of the basketball team, is not far from the 
church, and both organizations were looking for downtown service projects.

     Minnesotans were stunned in May of 2000 to learn that popular Minnesota 
Wolves guard Malik Sealy had been killed when his car was hit head-on by a drunk 
driver who was going the wrong way on a highway ramp. But this tragedy brought a 
new resolve to the work at the gym, and gave the gym a new name--the Malik Sealy 
Gym of Dreams.

     Volunteers from Target Center, de Novo Academy (an alternative school housed 
at Gethsemane), Grace Lutheran Church, and the Timberwolves worked for months to 
restore the gym--stripping the walls, painting, installing backboards and rims, 
and replacing the floor. 

     Target also built new restrooms and installed new lighting and air 
conditioning in the gym. Company volunteers sported red T shirts with the slogan: 
"You couldn't pay me to do this."

      "It's always good to give back to the community, not only in money, but in 
time and effort," Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders said in an interview with the 
St. Paul Pioneer Press. "And also knowing that it's going to have Malik's name, 
knowing his background and where he came from, growing up and playing outdoors, I 
think it's a positive. I think it's probably something he'd want to be involved 
with, so I think that means as much as anything."

A bridge over history

     The venerable gym flooring on the playing area had to be replaced, but it 
has not all gone. A large plaque made of the old floorboards will serve "to 
remind us of who played there and help us to remember our history," says Wilson. 

     The old flooring remains around all the edges of the room as well, serving 
as a bridge from the past to the present for those who must walk across it to get 
onto the new court.

     Sandye Wilson's prayer at the dedication called on the God of the "dream-
catchers" and the "dream-makers" --the ones who have a vision and the ones who 
make it come true. She thanked those who were visionary enough to build the 
church's gym in the 1920s which "provided us with the foundation--this gym that, 
75 years later, could be renovated for our community." 

     Wilson also thanked all who helped to make the dream a reality: the 
corporate donors and their work crews and the professional athletes who gave of 
their time; but also the others who helped in so many ways: the children who came 
over from the shelter to paint; the many who sent in their own small 
contributions; the schoolgirl who collected $12 from her classmates to "help fix 
your gym."

      "That which we've had a part in making, we value so much more," Wilson 
added.

The dream comes true 

     The Gym of Dreams was indeed finished in a year--less, in fact. 

     Speakers at the dedication ceremony on April 8 included Mayor Belton, 
Wilson, Timberwolves captain Sam Mitchell, and Minneapolis Lakers veteran Vern 
Mikkelson. Minnesota bishop James Jelinek also attended the event. 

     In the center of the gym floor is a bright blue circle with Sealy's retired 
No. 2. Around the number are signatures and messages from last year's team, 
including Joe Smith, Bobby Jackson, and Sid Lowe, who no longer are with the 
Timberwolves. A mural showing Sealy's last shot hangs on the wall.

      "I think [Sealy] would be proud, because this is a place where kids can 
come and dream," said Mitchell. "We all once dreamed of being NBA players . . . . 
One day, maybe an NBA player or two will come off this court, too." 

     The gym was "christened" with missed layups by the mayor and the rector, a 
dunk from Wolves forward Tom Hammonds, and a "made" layup by 16-year-old Jamar 
Mullins, a 10th-grader at de Novo Academy, who said he is proud that "his" gym 
was named for Sealy. 

     Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett also boosted up 3-year-old Malik 
Remington "Remi" Sealy for his own dunk. But Remi giggled and refused. 

Changing lives 

     The Malik Sealy Gym of Dreams is not just for those few kids who may become 
professional basketball players. All kinds of dreams could come true here.

      "Part of our responsibility of being good neighbors downtown is that we 
said Yes," Wilson said in an interview. "We want to become a resource for the 
community."

     The Bear Clan, a club for young Native Americans based at All Saints Indian 
Mission in Minneapolis, meets at Gethsemane and plays in the gym. 

     Gethsemane is developing a ministry called STREETS (Striving to Reach 
Educational Excellence Through Sports and Service) which will help prepare young 
people for success in college and in life. 

      "Even downtown workers come in for pickup games," Wilson says. "The range 
continually widens."

      "Children's lives will be changed by this. Someday they can say that we 
lived next to this church where we were loved and learned how to live well."

 "What a finish!"

     The highlight of the gym dedication was a videotape which opened with 1950 
TV news footage of the Minneapolis Lakers practicing in the gym at Gethsemane. 
There was no official practice arena for the team; like the kids in this same 
downtown neighborhood today, they had to find playing space where they could get 
it.

     The tape then moved through scenes of the restoration of the gym and 
highlights from Malik Sealy's playing days. It ended with the last basket of 
Sealy's life, a spectacular shot that hung in the air as the motion slowed and 
the picture faded. 

     The roar of the crowd and the excited voices of the announcers continued 
behind the darkened screen. "What a finish!" shouted one. "What a finish!" 

     And what a beginning, perhaps, in this gym bearing Sealy's name, for a child 
who needs a safe place to play, to grow--and to dream.

--Susan Barksdale is editor of Soundings, the newspaper for the Diocese of Minnesota.