Although he’s still in high school, Xzavier Neal has already seen too much violence.
“I’ve lost a lot of people, and I’ve seen a lot of people lose people to violence. And when I say violence, I don’t mean just gun violence,” said Neal, senior at the Academy of Richmond County, who spearheaded the Stop the Violence basketball tournament March 7 at the E.W. Hagler Boys and Girls Clubs of Augusta on Division Street.
Adults from law enforcement, the military and businesses formed teams to compete Saturday. Also, there was a team of club staff members and another one made up of club members.
A finalist for the club’s youth of the year, Neal said he’d initially hoped for eight teams. Instead, there were five teams participating and a gym full of spectators. The sight was encouraging.
Neal said a few minutes before the tournament started, he had to take a minute in the kitchen to shed a few “happy tears”.
“This is way bigger than I thought it would be,” he said.
Teams included law enforcement officers from the Augusta-Richmond County Sheriff’s Department, employees of sponsor 7 Brew Coffee and members of the Fort Gordon Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers (BOSS) program.
Amisha Webb, the club’s life and workforce readiness program specialist, said what made this tournament so special was the fact that it was Xzavier’s idea and not that of an adult staff member. He even spoke about his plans in his speech at the Youth of the Year event.
”They (teens) are tired of a lot of the violence going on in their community. They are like ‘how can we positively turn this around? How can we get them to resolve issues non-violently?’” she said.
Neal knew other people in Augusta shared his love of basketball, so he wanted to bring them together. He thought the basketball tournament would be a positive way to build community.
Webb said every year the teens at the club participate in an initiative called “think, learn and create change, and that allows them to advocate for something meaningful for their community. This year, they decided to do teen violence and teen homelessness.”
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named Augusta Magazine’s best local writer in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
