Shaun explaining the nuances of the crossover dribble

Yesterday was a day that I had dreamt, planned, re-planned, fundraised, and more, for so long – that I couldn’t believe it was finally here. The kids at St. Patrick’s School in Chennai are amazing. Their excitement wasn’t one of jumping up and down but more of a “keep telling/showing us more.”

We worked on some dribbling drills, layups, passing, and understanding why we do the different things in the game. The analogy of a basketball game being like a test was also made, and so that way learning drills and practicing were just like learning the material and doing your homework. While someone might want to just take the test without studying or doing their work – usually to be successful, the work has to be put in to have that satisfaction with a grade well earned, or a huge game won.

Eric Obeysekere of College of the Holy Cross joins us tomorrow and standing at 6’9, I know the kids are going to love him right off the bat. I will post a profile of Eric later this week but kudos to a young man who is a Division 1 College basketball player who is giving up some of his very few moments of free time (and time he could be back home in San Francisco) and coming to work with these kids an help model Hoops Creating Hope.

While we did have a lot of students in non-athletic shoes and even in full school uniform, let’s hope we can find ways to reverse that and help these children who have a passion for education and hoops to be able to play more often.

And I’m sure I haven’t said it nearly enough but – thank you. Thank you for helping to make a vision of mine come true and thank you for believing that Hoops and Hope can help Change the World. 

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