Palm Heights: The Rain Cleared and the Intensity Took Over

When I arrived at Palm Heights, heavy rain had already flooded parts of the city. Hoopers were playing, but a large puddle covered one corner of the court.

I found a push broom and started sweeping the water away. Before the first official game began, the court had dried and the weather cleared. That was the first blessing of the night.

The hoopers were grateful and kept playing. Once the water was gone, PJJ was able to set up and begin recording. At Palm Heights, players have to arrive ready to compete. There was no jump ball because a winning team was already holding the court, and nobody wanted to lose the first possession.

The Community Followed the Run

An estimated 50 to 70 hoopers came through Palm Heights. Several familiar faces from the Pro Jump Jones City Tour were there, along with hoopers who had recently joined us at Miller’s Pond.

There were also new players and Palm Heights locals getting their first experience with a Pro Jump Jones run.

One of my favorite things to watch is how the community travels. We can move from one side of San Antonio to another, and hoopers continue following the runs to whichever park is next. Every stop brings together PJJ veterans, players from the previous court and new people from the surrounding neighborhood.

Intensity From the Beginning

Intensity defined the Palm Heights run.

The games were competitive, the sidelines stayed crowded and several familiar standouts returned to the camera. Thirteen games were played throughout the night, with 11 of them recorded.

Jarrod was one of the standout players. He also made an impression during the original City Tour, and his highlights have consistently performed well with the community.

Another local standout who appeared during the City Tour returned and brought the same energy. His play and the celebration that followed gave us another Palm Heights moment worth remembering.

Voices From Palm Heights

The interviews gave us an opportunity to learn more about some of the people behind the highlights.

AK, a longtime supporter of Pro Jump Jones, discussed recently returning to basketball.

More Than Basketball

One photograph captured a quieter moment away from the competition. A longtime PJJ veteran known as “Black” stood on the sideline holding his daughter.

It was a simple reminder that these runs are bigger than the games. Players grow, families come along and the people who have supported Pro Jump Jones through the years continue being part of the story.

Security stopped by during the night to warn us that a vehicle needed to be moved before it was towed. The vehicle was moved, and the games continued without any further issues.

What We Learned

The toughest challenge was managing the player list while recording games at the same time. With this many people and games, those responsibilities have become too large for one person to handle properly.

Future runs will need a dedicated scorekeeper and someone to maintain the sign up list and track the games to help everything move more smoothly.

That is part of the growth. Every park teaches us something about what the next version of these runs requires.

Palm Heights finished with 13 games played, 11 games recorded and no reported injuries. After beginning with heavy rain and water covering part of the court, the night ended peacefully.

The weather cleared, the community showed up and Palm Heights delivered one of the most intense runs of the year.