A Catholic church closed by the diocese of Lansing in 2020 has new life as a basketball training facility starting this week.
Along with a church building, the St. Casimir property in Lansing includes a rectory, a school, and a gym. The AIM HIGH Basketball Academy is leasing the property, and hopes to ultimately buy it.
Academy owner Steve Ernst says the facility is in great shape.
“It’s a central location for kids to get to,” he explained. “And obviously, many of us from the Lansing area know where St. Cas is at, and I just think it has great potential.”
AIM HIGH started in the Walter French Academy in Lansing in the 1990s, and later was located at the Summit Sports complex that closed last year.
Ernst has a long history as a coach at the high school and collegiate level. He says the first camp at St. Casimir starts Monday.
“We have a spring break camp, and have had a great registration for it,” he said. “We’re excited. We’ve got a lot of local kids, but we’ve got kids from all the suburbs as well, so it should be a fun start, if not too fast.”
The church’s rectory building could someday house international students who are playing prep basketball in the area.
Ernst says AIM HIGH may also include volleyball instruction in the future.
