BALLIN

Believe that you can do anything

Always give your best effort in everything you do

Live with integrity

Love without fear

Indulge in the interests of others, not just your own

Never say, “I cant”

I am finally getting into a groove here in Goma with basketball and building relationships with a bunch of different people. The people here really seem to be wise people, but also really crazy. The thing I love about it here though is the genuine happiness that people have. Even though their lives are hard they are always willing to give you a smile and show you respect.

            Basketball has taken a little while to fit in to. This is mainly due to the language barrier and the lack of prior training and knowledge of basketball. I learned in teaching education that at the beginning of a unit you should always check for prior knowledge. This is one thing that this past week has taught me. I thought that I could just jump in the program and teach the fundamentals focusing on a couple skills a training session. This past week though served as a prior knowledge test for the players and I realized that they have little to no prior knowledge on the game of basketball.

            Due to the fact that the kids have no access to ever watching professional basketball (or even any type of proper basketball), good basketball facilities, and competent trainers, no players here in Goma really have a fundamental base. Each player plays off of pure athleticism. I really came to this realization this week.

            Now I am in the process of retooling the program in a way that we can best teach these kids the right way to play basketball. In this way I can hopefully also teach my fellow coaches how to properly run a practice. This past week I gave each of the other coaches reigns on the practice and their practices were really a waste of time. They did the same drills for 30 minutes at a time and spent almost half the practice running the kids. This is not a way to develop basketball players, or foster a love for the game. Really, who wants to come to basketball practice after a long day of school and run for half of the practice? Now I am trying to show the coaches all of the fun drills that we can use to further develop the kid’s love for basketball.

            One aspect of coaching that really drives me is the opportunity to serve others as an inspiration and a motivator. It is hard for me here and a little discouraging because of the language barrier that I cannot do this as well as I could in America. I love to give quotes and teach the important ideas in basketball such as a few I wrote in the poem at the beginning. This is one reason that I am really trying to learn French, but I am terrible at learning languages. I just hope to be a role model to these kids in action because I cant in word. I wish to be to these kids what all of my role models have been to me. I have been so lucky to have amazing models for the way to properly conduct myself, treat others, and treat life. I am very blessed.