BASKETBALL legends Leroy Loggins and Sharin Milner treated Cloncurry kids to three days of sporting fun and inspiration during the shire's regional Stride Foundation visit this week.
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Youths met at the PCYC hall at the showground to test their basketball skills against the very best, heard some harrowing stories about the challenges Loggins and Milner faced during their sporting careers and shared some lunch with friends.
Standing 162cm tall, Milner, the Opals guard is one of Australia's best sportswomen.
She said it was great to see all of the kids getting active during their school holidays and didn't mind having an AFL break between the basketball workshops.
Loggins is one of the country's most famous USA imports and played for the Brisbane Bullets from 1981 to 2001.
He said his last visit to Cloncurry in April with AFL Star Daniel Motlop encouraged him to work on his Australian Rules ball skills.
"I think I still need to work on my AFL skills but some of these kids are good little athletes, they could play whatever they wanted," he said.
He the Stride Foundation program was successful at getting kids and teens off the streets because every kid loved to play sport and run around.
"These kids are young but they remember you and they listen to your stories," he said.
"Sport takes their energy and channels it into something positive."
PCYC acting branch manager Mick Molloy said the program was already making a difference in the lives of youths.
He said children and teens police officers often had dealings with in the evenings were all home in bed asleep after taking part in the program, worn out by their participation team sport activities.
"On behalf of the PCYC we appreciate the effort Stride have made to visit our small country town," he said.
"Leroy is a legend in Cloncurry and starting to rank almost as high as Justin Bieber."
Stride project manager Justine Holmes said the 'On the Ball' visits to Cloncurry would continue for three years, bringing old favourites and new faces to inspire kids of the town.
"This group has grown so much and it is more and more popular every year," she said.
"Leroy is especially good because the kids remember him and love hearing his stories. They feel they can relate to him and he's a real inspiration."
Ms Holmes said the program was a credit to Glencore Xstrata who funded the program in Cloncurry and Mount Isa.
The 'On the Ball' workshops finish in Cloncurry today before the mentors travel to Mount Isa for three days of school holiday fun.
