Team Work Basketball teammates encourage one another before a game
SOUTHERNSPOTLIGHT CAP: Community
The Power of Play The North Charleston Police Department is showing the Lowcountry what successful outreach looks like, one game at a time. Words and photos by Joy Bonala
Z
i’kia Lewis was always drawn to sports. From a young age, the North Charleston native had all the desired abilities to excel on any field or court; speed, strength, agility, and a competitive spirit. In high school, she joined Military Magnet High’s volleyball and softball teams. Though she enjoyed the games she played, the teenager had all but given up hope of playing the one sport she always wanted to play: football. Her mother had forbidden her, concerned about the roughness of the typically all-male game. Zi’kia’s luck changed however, when she learned that the North Charleston Police Department was recruiting girls for a powder puff football league.
“I was the first one ready to play,” Zi’kia says. “I was passionate about it, I really took it to heart.” The powder puff league is one of many sports offered to students for free through the North Charleston Police Department’s Cops Athletic Program (CAP). As quarterback, Zi’kia learned how to be resilient, think strategically, and be a team player. She and her teammates were a tight knit group. Zi’kia, an only child, had a sisterhood for the first time in her life. After several successful years of participating in the league, she found herself serving as a role model for younger girls. Zi’kia also formed strong bonds with her coaches, all
of whom were officers or detectives with the police department. “I love them, they are like my second family,” Zi’kia says. One of her favorite coaches was PFC Angel Wilcome, coordinator of CAP. For Wilcome, Zi’kia is a shining example of the positive relationships that the CAP fosters between law enforcement officials and community members. The program, which began in 2014, seeks to bridge the differences between police officers and the North Charleston community. It started Fall 2019 AZALEAMAG.COM
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