Rip Robertson is the Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Tucker. He brings to the job years of experience in Parks and Rec, as well as Public Works. Rip is a former Military Intelligence Analyst for the U.S. Army and is active with the Army Reserve.
For this month’s Ask Rip column, I wanted to talk about a topic I’ve been asked about time and again since I took this job back in 2017. That topic is basketball. Now, I know we’re in the throes of college football season here in the South. Personally, I’m a graduate of Fresno State University. Unlike the Bulldogs here in Georgia, my Bulldogs are unranked at 3-4 with no real national title aspirations. So, let’s talk hoops.
We are in the finishing stages of renovating the gymnasium at Tucker Recreation Center. While we do have outdoor basketball courts in our Parks system, we’ve never been able to offer indoor basketball options for cold or inclement weather. With these renovations, the Rec Center will be able to run two games simultaneously or one game with bleachers on either side of the court.
It also allows us to offer a youth basketball league for the winter. We are partnering with Halftime Sports on a league for boys and girls ages five to twelve. Registration begins November 1 and runs through December 6. You can sign up on our tuckerga.gov/parks website or in person at Tucker Recreation Center. On Saturday December 7 we will host a free clinic where you will have one last chance to register your child. Games begin in January and the season will run for six-to-eight weeks. We will participate in the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association (GRPA) season ending tournaments and hope to host several age groups for that event.
One note on Halftime Sports: while they have not run a basketball league in the Tucker area before, you may actually know them. Back in April, they conducted a free community basketball clinic at Peters Park. It was well attended with over 40 young men and women participating and working on their skills. Halftime Sports is run by former basketball coaches and they work with high school and college basketball players to serve as mentors to the league participants. It’s a great environment for our youngsters to learn teamwork, develop skills and forge friendships.
Lastly, I want to offer a reminder that the holidays are just around the corner (I know, it seems like our Independence Day fireworks show was just last week!). During the month of December, we will be hosting the “Advent Acts of Service” again this year. Be on the lookout for some advance notice on what some of these acts will be. Our Recreation Leaders, Crystal Dawson and Joe Stewart, are working hard and will have some fun and meaningful ways to impact your neighbors, community, friends and family.
