SAN ANTONIO - Joaquinn Arch is an East Side businessman and an assistant coach with the Midnight Basketball League which police formed to help combat crime on the East Side.
This summer Arch drilled 19-year-old William Knowles on basketball skills and how to dodge problems in life.
"It definitely changed me. I could see a lot of benefits. Stuff people told me is coming true by working hard,” Knowles said.
He is now getting attention from college scouts.
He won’t be on the radar of police who are looking for problems. Officers believe believe trouble often stems from teenagers and young adults with too much free time.
Earlier this year, several shootings, some drug related, led to an outcry for help from citizens.
“We have people going in and out of those houses, doing whatever inside the houses and then they would sit on the corner," said Jody Cockrem.
She believes police the police department is reducing crime. Many wonder if the Midnight Basketball League is part of the solution.
It's worked nationally and the SAPD hopes to keep the ball rolling on its new crime prevention program.
About 12 teams participated in weeks of competition. The Davis-Scott Family YMCA team took home a first place trophy.
Mentors at the YMCA have helped a lot of kids stay away from trouble and Arch was one of them. Now he is working with the Midnight Basketball League to give back and help shape future role models.
"If you start changing the way an area looks, then you start changing the attitude. People will start taking pride," he believes.
