By Staff
Charles Prince, Hartselle Enquirer
Danville's Nate Orr will soon be heading overseas for a basketball tourney and a chance to spread his faith.
Orr will travel to the Dominican Republic later this month for a basketball tournament combined with a mission trip. Orr is one of 12 high school players from around the Southeast who were invited to take the six-day trip.
The trip will include a series of games between high school players from America and the best club team players that the island nation has to offer. The games will be played in the country's largest indoor stadium that seats 10,000. The stadium, which hosted the Pan-Am games, is located in the capital city of Santo Domingo.
For Orr, a point guard at Danville High who will enter his senior year this fall, the trip is the chance to accomplish two goals.
"It's exciting," Orr said. "I want to go over there and win, but basketball is only part of it. The mission part of the trip to spread Christianity is the most important part. The basketball is secondary."
The trip, sponsored by Score International, will include feeding hungry villagers and supplying clothes, diapers and Bibles for an orphanage, in addition to the basketball.
The hoops will be four games played over four consecutive nights. A team of college players will also be on the trip. They will play club players of college age from the Dominican islands.
"I'm a little nervous thinking about playing in front of 10,000 people," Orr said. "But I think it will be fun too. To play ball in front of that many people will be great. And the level of competition I'll play against will help my game out a lot."
Orr and his teammates will fly to Nashville on July 29 and
practice as a team for the first
time.
The following day they will fly into the islands and practice one more time before the opening game that night.
Robert Pope, Danville High boy's basketball coach, thinks Nate was chosen for the team because of his character.
"When they called and invited Nate, they wanted Nate the person," Pope said.
"Nate is a solid citizen and a really good person, first. Then he's a good basketball player, second. That's why they invited him."