January 12, 2017
NEW ORLEANS – Saturday Morning Hoops is a new pilot program in New Orleans developed by the NBA in collaboration with the New Orleans Pelicans, New Orleans Recreation Development Commission (NORDC), Up2Us Sports, and the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE) to help build stronger and safer communities. This program is designed to empower youth in New Orleans through the game of basketball and by introducing them to the concepts of leadership, conflict resolution, identity and diversity.
The objectives of this pilot program is to form an impactful and engaging youth program in connection with NBA All-Star 2017 in New Orleans. With the goal of empowering youth to view themselves as leaders and agents of change within their community, Saturday Morning Hoops will teach participants new skills that will allow them to have positive conversations about race, racism and prejudice while enjoying the game of basketball.
Saturday Morning Hoops Date/Time: January 14th – February 18th/10am-12:30pm (6 weeks) Location: Milne Center Partners: NORDC, RISE, New Orleans Pelicans, local law enforcement Youth Participants: 60-75 boys and girls, ages 14-17 Duration: 6-week program that brings youth together each Saturday morning over consecutive weeks to participate in a combination of on-court basketball programming and classroom-based learnings. Saturday Schedule (2 1/2 hours per session) – 45 minutes of RISE curriculum – 75-90 minutes of on-court programming Attendance and facilitator feedback will be taken throughout the duration of the program – Youth participants can accumulate points for attendance, submission of any “homework” assigned, and on-court play. These points can be redeemed for prizing at the culmination of the program.
