The loss of Claire Zisserson still tugs at the heartstrings of many in the community. Just 13 years old, she tragically lost her life to a drunk driver in December 2019.
Zisserson loved playing sports, especially basketball, soccer, cross-country, and tennis. People say that being a part of a team was always one of her favorite parts of athletics. To keep that passion going, the Claire Rose Zisserson Teammate Scholarship is awarded each year to one graduating senior from Plymouth North, Plymouth South, and the Rising Tide Charter Public School.
A major fundraiser for the scholarship is the annual Hoops with Heart Youth Basketball Tournament. Celebrating its fourth year, the tournament is this Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 14 and 15 at four locations in town: Plymouth North and Plymouth South high schools, Plymouth South Middle School, and the Plymouth Community Intermediate School.
The tournament is open to boys and girls town teams (non-AAU) in divisions from fourth through eighth grade. Tournament Director Diana Hamblin said the field has grown from 23 teams in its first year, 2023, to 65 teams. New this year will be a third-grade division for boys, as well as a round-robin high school girls basketball tournament with teams representing Plymouth North, Plymouth South, Carver, and Monomoy.
The Plymouth North Basketball Association, Plymouth Girls Basketball League, and the South Plymouth Youth Basketball league will have a total of 20 local teams competing.
“This is a great event for all of the different basketball leagues in Plymouth to come together each year to honor Claire’s memory,” said Alex Reizakis, president of South Plymouth Youth Basketball. “It’s a great way for all of us together to give back after such a tragedy.”
Other communities participating in this year’s tournament include Monomoy, Dennis-Yarmouth, Marshfield, Braintree, Carver, Dartmouth, Scituate, Cohasset, and Norwell, as well as a pair of teams making the trip all the way from Nantucket.
Asked what she wanted people to know about Zisserson, Hamblin said Claire was “an exceptional young athlete who was especially known and remembered for being an even better teammate and friend. Always smiling – never a negative word or look.
“She had a tremendous stride, and I especially remember her running down the basketball court on her way to make a layup, with her dad yelling out ‘fly, fly, fly.’
“And yes – she always made her layups. This is how the Hoops with Heart logo came to be with ‘fly, fly, fly’ embedded in the logo.”
Much like the Jennifer Lynn Kane Memorial Youth Softball Tournament that’s held each summer at Forges Field, the success of the Hoops with Heart tournament comes with providing teams with an experience that makes them want to come back each year while adding new groups along the way, Hamblin said.
“The logistics of everything get a little easier every year,” said Hamblin about this true labor of love. “We listen to feedback from the teams each year about what they like from the tournament and try to build things from there.”
Hamblin credited “the incredible number of volunteers who are passionate about this cause” that come to help every year to keep the games humming.
Had she lived, Zisserson would be a junior in college right now. A special group of her close friends and former teammates comes back from school each year to help at the tournament. Volunteer scorekeepers and people to run the game clock are needed for the games, as well as volunteers to help with refreshments and run the concession stands.
Anyone interested in helping at the tournament this weekend, please send an email to hoopswitheart21@gmail.com. David Wolcott can be reached at dwolcott@plymouthindependent.org