SOUTH POINT — Drew Griffin and Evan Melvin kept a watchful eye on the new crop of athletes who turned up to register on Saturday for this year’s King’s Court, the Biblically based basketball program at Tri-State Temple in South Point.

Griffin, a member of the church and volunteer with the program, has spent many winters coaching the youngsters ranging from 4-years-old to sixth graders and knows how much they have learned through the game of basketball. Joining him in coaching duties is Melvin, assistant pastor.

“Their skill level goes up,” Griffin said. “They learn how to play as a team and get to interact with young people.”

After checking out the uniforms they’ll be wearing this year, the youngsters ran to the gym floor to shoot some hoops.

“We have an environment conducive to a good experience for parents and children,” Tim Jenkins, pastor at Tri-State Bible, said. “We don’t put the focus on winning and losing. We don’t have an all-star team. Every player gets to play each game.

“We do keep scoring games. That is part of life. Our focus is on a good environment. We are not cheering against people, but cheering for them.”

So much so that the adjunct cheerleading program has only one team and those girls stay on the sidelines cheering for both teams of players.

Besides the traditional method of getting on the scoreboard, King’s Court allows each player to add points for his team by reciting each week a Scripture verse.

“They come in anxious to recite their verse,” Griffin said. “It’s wonderful to see God’s word planted in their heads.”