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Rutenis Paulauskas

Kaunas Juvenile Reformatory: Better Life – Better Basketball

This past October Kaunas juvenile reformatory joined the program “Basketball Power” 2016-2017 season. Well known business man Joseph Kazickas’s family foundation sponsors the program that is designed to help the children and teenagers in Lithuanian towns and villages, teach the participants, and encourage them to reach for their set goals. “Basketball Power” seeks to fight the problems of alcoholism, human trafficking, and social exclusion. In this program, basketball is only a tool used to get to the children and teenagers, to show them that they are important, to listen to them and understand them, bring them together, and encourage them to dream and reach for their goals. The Kaunas juvenile reformatory youth meets with the coach every week where they not only taught basketball but also communicate together and encourage them to improve.

I like D. Trump, but I like H. Clinton! We are winners, and you are “losers”! At that time when I visited the Kaunas juvenile reformatory, it seemed that the whole world was separated into two parts. There is no reason to be angry about the politics, personal failures, experience stress or fatigue, failed love, lost money or the want to look better than the neighbor. These teenage boys can only divide themselves into winners and losers based on activity – basketball. And only for a few hours! Have you ever heard that basketball can cause enemies? Maybe in Greece or Turkey, but that is more based on politics than on sport grounds. I am positive that basketball is one of the best tools to encourage peace between people, the opportunity to help them grow, and let them show their strength and experience pleasure.

This was the first time that I visited the juvenile reformatory and I have to be honest, I was a little nervous. I was scared of mean faces, questions to which I didn’t have an answer to, aggressive remarks, oppressive closure and restrictive rules for everything. However, if I didn't know that I was in the Kaunas juvenile reformatory already, I wouldn’t even suspect that the teenage boys standing in front of me have committed such serious crimes. They were dressed nicely, had smiles on their faces and ready for a serious basketball practice. For these 12 teenage boys, basketball is a reminder of freedom. Their days are planned so that there is no time to waste: attend school, learn woodwork, cooking, improve their work with the computer, meet with guests. So basketball practice with a professional coach once a week is a refreshment, interest, and excitement.

In a nice gym, practice begins at just the right time. The coach’s word is a rule for them. These boys learn how to follow the rules each day. If they want to enter freedom more quickly, receive encouragement, and learn how to live differently, they have to follow the rules. Pluses and minuses system this year is the base of life. So to manage these boys, at least during practice, is not too difficult. During the drills, almost all the elements of basketball are repeated. While one’s basketball is flying in the air, I ask him from what town does he come from. From Klaipeda, he answers quietly. Of course, where else could you find a better basketball shooter school. There are legends told that in Klaipeda, coaches used to lock the youth in gyms so they could perfect their basketball throws. Maybe the juvenile reformatory is a place where they could practice their throws? Lock them in a gym and leave them there for 24 hours, after that go to the LKL contest. But, in all seriousness, in this practice there wasn’t any shortage of motivation that some professionals go through when there aren’t basketball games on the weekends. These boys don’t even know if they will ever play a real game, but they work as if the most important finals are the next day.

The life of a growing person is difficult in the juvenile reformatory. Even though they are taught important everyday things that will help them to succeed in life, many don’t. Often, they feel as if they are not important, don’t have a person to go to or don’t have something to do. This is why they come back here because of another crime. When they turn 18 years old, the boys have a choice of where to finish their time, whether to stay here or go to the adult jail. Those that don’t plan to live life without crimes often choose to go to adult jail where the conditions are much more brutal. This kind of transition to go to the adult zone is the rule of criminals.

The communication with the workers of the juvenile reformatory was warm and interesting. These people have a different type of pedagogical, physiological, and social experience. What stuck out to me the most was that they don’t want to call this juvenile reformatory a reformatory or jail, but to keep the name “home” in it. They want that in this “home” these boys learn not only important life skills, but also how to communicate, be responsible, and to know the difference between positive and negative things. But, there is much required effort to make this happen when the boys are isolated from society. The director is full of optimism and his eyes sparkle when talking that it is possible to do all of this. We have to believe in the boys that live here, we have to be patient and not to put our hands down when something fails, we have to help them and always think about their and our success.

I have often thought that basketball is a life metaphor… sometimes basketball, like life, can be a simple game. To play with friends, experience pleasure, solve easy problems, doesn’t matter win or lose, to not experience stress is not a difficult activity. Life in the juvenile reformatory seems like a simple game: food is ready, schedule is planned, schoolwork and work, planned free time, safe day, week, and month. Even though basketball could be a difficult, unexpected game: challenges, competition, unplanned situations, right and wrong decisions, excitement, frustration and happiness. While playing basketball for fun or for something else, the practices could help become a better basketball player. The program “Basketball Power” supports the idea that the Kaunas juvenile reformatory is a place where we want to help the youth become better life players.