The Hoops for Heroes: 3 vs. 3 Basketball Tournament will be hosted in the LZHS Fieldhouse on Wednesday, May 7 from 6:30pm-8:30pm, to raise money for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) in honor of Tom Kowalski, an active member of the community, who passed away last summer from this disease. The price for admission is $2, and there will also be a donation jar.

“[Mr. Kowalski] was my basketball coach for five years. In 6th grade, I was struggling with developing confidence on the court. He constantly encouraged me and believed that I could be a better player as long as I had the right mindset,”Kunal Kothari, junior, said. “What was amazing about his coaching is that he was going through so much with cancer, and he never let that affect him.”

Hosted by the LZHS PE Leadership Program, Kothari, along with his group, juniors, Tyler Shadrick, Sarah Ludwigsen, Mark Gewargis, Hannah Paulus, and Brianna Wold, created this project to fulfill the requirements for the PE Leadership program. The objective is to devise a project that will benefit LZHS that also has a connection to the students.

“When [my group] first started to think of ideas, I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to honor a man who was so involved in our community and who had an impact on so many people’s lives, including myself,” Kothari said.

Tom Kowalski was involved in the Lake Zurich Baseball and Softball Association (LZBSA) as a board member and manager, coached his two sons’ basketball teams, as well as being involved in community in other ways and his children’s other activities. There will be six half-court games set up in the Fieldhouse, with each game lasting ten minutes. Whatever team has the most points when the time runs out, wins and continues onto the next round in the bracket tournament. The tournament is set up in a randomized bracket, and there are 18 teams participating. The winners of the tournament will be awarded three gift cards to California Pizza Kitchen.

In addition to the three-on-three tournament, there will be a three point contest open to anyone for $1. The winner will receive a Red Mango gift card. Also, fundraising will be held at the Lake Zurich Culver’s, located off of Route 12, during the duration of the night. The Hoops for Heroes Culver’s fundraising flyer needs to be shown at the time of purchase for ten percent of the purchase to be donated to MMRF.

Drew Kowalski, junior and son of Tom Kowalski, will be participating in the tournament. He and his sister, Ali Kowalski, feel honored on the decision for this event.

“Of all the charities in the world, the fact that they picked Multiple Myeloma for my dad was so nice, and I’m glad they’re going to make donations to the research foundation so hopefully one day a cure can be found,” Alli Kowalski said.

Drew Kowalski would like to see this event to raise as much money as possible for research.

“Hopefully people will have fun, but also save lives in a search for a cure,” Drew Kowalski said.

Kothari’s group set a goal in January to raise $500 to donate to research. Team sign ups to participate in the three-on-three tournament ended last week. The cost was $15 per team, equaling out to $5 per team member. The bleachers will be available for spectators, which costs $2 to get in.

“I would love to see a lot of spectators who come out and support the cause,” Kothari said. “In the future, if the tournament becomes a tradition, I think it would be awesome to see the tournament turn into an event in which the whole community is involved.”