Through a friendship that began back in their youth, two young men from Newton have established a recreation club for area youth in the name of positively shaping and changing lives.
B. E. Sports Academy is a nonprofit organization headed by Tony Burks and Demarius Evans, longtime pals whose friendship grew though their years at Newton Municipal Schools. After furthering their education, both young men returned to Newton to put their skills to work for both the city and the school district. Evans, 24, is the Deputy Clerk for the City of Newton, while Burks, 23, is the Accounts Payable Director for NMSD.
Looking to branch their efforts into being a positive influence for area youth, Evans and Burks founded B. E. Academy back in February. According to Burks, it was time to enact a plan that both he and Burks had planned together.
“We were inspired to create B. E. Sports Academy because there was a need. We both played little league and have coached little league, and we had an AAU team when we were growing up,” said Burks. “It’s been kind of like a ten-year long plan and now it’s just the right time.”
Currently they’re heading the academy’s inaugural sports team, an AAU Basketball team named the Newton All Americans, made up of area 5th and 6th grade boys. To date, the team has had great success by winning a tournament in Jackson and finishing in second place at a tournament in Birmingham, where in both tournaments they played against teams from regional teams from Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, and other states. In the next few weeks, the team will be travelling to Jackson and Florida to compete tournaments.
But while the team is being taught the skills and techniques in becoming better athletes, Evans said the academy’s purpose is much more than sports.
“It’s a little bit more important than just sports. I know the object in sports is to go win, but we’ve finally got an outlet where we can teach them to win in life,” said Evans. “How to be a productive citizen in the community, things to inspire for, and take them places where they can go back and tell other people that ‘I got to see these places and I can see myself being there’.
“And we definitely stress academics,” added Burks.
One shining example of their productivity in the community is the team participated in the Community Cleanup on April 6 in Newton and helped other community members pick up trash on the sides of roads.
When not practicing, the team has also held fundraisers to help pay for their travel to the basketball tournaments, such as carwashes and selling barbecue plates. This fall, on September 1, the B. E. Sports Academy will present an event called City Blues. The event, taking place in Downtown Newton, is a community-centered fundraiser based and inspired from “Dinner en Blanc”.
And while the lone team currently playing under the B. E. Sports Academy organization is in the sport of basketball, there are plans to form more teams in different sports in the future. But until then, basketball it is. B. E. Sports Academy will conduct tryouts for next year’s AAU team in the beginning of 2025, so those interested in the great leadership and instruction that both Burks and Evans provides to the communities youth should keep a lookout on their Facebook page for more details.
