By Andrew Coakley

FN Sports Editor

The YMCA basketball gym is a walk through history.

Walk into the gym, even as it is now, and you can almost hear the voices of the fans, the shouts of the coaches to players on the floor and the sound of the buzzer to start and end games.

There, the best-of-the-best Grand Bahamian ball players displayed their skill. It was at the YMCA basketball gym that up and coming players perfected their craft of basketball.

It was at the YMCA where players earned their nick-names, and it was there where fans shouted out those names from the bleachers in games that attracted entire families to the YMCA.

Everyone who has ever been in the YMCA remembers that infamous huge sign, written in red, bold letters over the scorers' table which read: "Anyone found swearing or not abiding by Y rules will be ejected from this gym."

Those are the memories that are packed and locked away in the YMCA basketball gym.

Like bottling the best wine at the right time, the YMCA gym may have been closed up for a long time, but once the doors are opened and one begins to walk around the gym, the memories, visions and voices come rushing back.

Now plans are under way to bring back the glory days of the YMCA. Over recent years much work has gone into the restoration of the building.

It has been a slow and long process, but things are beginning to look up for the return of the YMCA basketball gym.

Just a few weeks ago, swimming students from the Metuchen Edison YMCA in New Jersey were in town, where they helped out in painting the inside of the gym.

With most of the structural work almost completed, Karon Johnson, Executive Director for the YMCA says that time is drawing near for the return of the YMCA basketball gym.

"Thanks to the Government of The Bahamas, in particular, Minister of Sports, Hon. Desmond Bannister, the YMCA has been able to secure two contractors who are working on the electrical and plumbing aspect of the gym," said Johnson.

"We have been assured that by the end of January the electrical and plumbing works will be completed. We have about three to four people in the United States out there seeking to locate for us a floor for the gym.

"If that is successful, we have Sean McSheen from the Junkanoo Jam Basketball Classic, who has pledged a substantial amount of money to assist us with getting the clocks and the bleachers for the gym."

If all goes as planned, it seems inevitable that the YMCA basketball gym will be up and running by June of this year.

Johnson is convinced that the YMCA can bounce back and be restored to its former glory.

"The YMCA has a rich history," said Johnson. "There is no other facility on this island that can compare to such a rich history and legacy of basketball in Grand Bahama.

"Even Ricardo Lightbourne at one time had some part of that history of basketball in the YMCA.

"So, I see this gym coming back with full force and I think that there is a lot for us to gain in our future. Because of our location and because of the love for the YMCA, I see a lot of the basketball coming back to the YMCA.

"I see a lot of new legends coming back to the YMCA."

Johnson is aware that restoring those glory days to the YMCA Basketball gym is going to be tough, considering that they will be competing with three other basketball gyms on the island.

It's a fight Johnson is preparing herself for.

However she has a plan, which may include some diversification of the gym.

For now, the main objective will be to get the gym up and running to prepare that road for a glorious return.