DON McDERMOTT / PVT Courtney Lewis, who helped run a basketball skills contest at J.G. Johnson Elementary School last weekend, is one of the organizers for the Nye County Sports Association. Advertisement

Courtney and Dawn Lewis, Pahrump residents, perceived a lack of athletic activities for younger children in the area. This resulted in the creation of The Nye County Sports Association (NCSA).

The Lewis' and their supporters want basketball to be the first sport to open the NCSA.

"This is the sport we wish to open the door with because we don't have a facility of our own and we want to be an off-season sport," said Dawn Lewis. "This should in fact start an informal farm league for the Nye County School District."

The proposed basketball league will have co-ed teams ranging from youths ages 7-9 and 10-12. From ages 13 to 18, the league will go to all-male and all-female teams. Team selections will be similar to the NBA draft. The selection process and sign-ups will run from 5-9 p.m. June 21-22 in the Pahrump Valley Ninth Grade Academy gym.

Dawn and her husband Courtney, who brings years of youth athletic experience, believe all area residents should have the opportunity to participate in athletics.

"I grew up in Chicago," Courtney Lewis said. "I experienced first-hand the athletic competition that the various city programs had to offer and it made a difference in my life."

Courtney Lewis's first coaching experience was in Galveston, Texas. There, he coached the junior varsity team for O'Connor High School and led his team to the Texas state championship for 1-A schools.

Later, in Austin, Lewis built from the ground up the city's first-ever Midnight Basketball League, which primarily catered to 18- to 25-year-olds, and was named coach of the year.

Courtney and Dawn Lewis want what is best for their three children and they expect to see a marked change in the young people who participate in the NCSA.

"In organized sports, you have to learn how to trust another person," Courtney Lewis said. "You begin to work with your team, depend on each other and it brings out the best in a person. It makes you stronger, it makes you vulnerable, and with your vulnerability, your teammates make you a better person."

Helping the Lewis' with their endeavor are corporate sponsors that believe in a home-grown NCSA: Dr. Ruezga of Pahrump Family Dental; Kathy Slaughterback of All Star Realty; Hollis L. Harris Reality; Dr. George Leaks; Precious Property Realty; The Rockwell Commercial Group; Saitta-Trudeau Dodge Dealership and Super Burrito.

The NCSA will have its first board meeting soon to work out the by-laws and setting the agenda. A public meeting will be set for two weeks prior to the start of the league.

The NCSA can be reached at 727-7651. Courtney Lewis may be reached at lewisncsa@aol.com.