Shooting touch sabbatical program

From there, Chloe went on to play basketball professionally for a year in Israel. Chloe loves to coach basketball to athletes of all ages and abilities; she is big on teaching confidence and loves building personal relationships with the players and coaches that she has been able to work with.

Chloe lead the expansion of the women's and girls program at her courts and is a crowd favorite both on and off the court. He graduated with a degree in Business Administration with distinction and an emphasis on entrepreneurship.

Jake had a great year when he was in Rwanda, where he took special attention to the business aspect of the program. Jake worked endlessly and had been successful in ensuring that our star player in Rwanda made the U16 national team. Growing up in Waterville, Maine Jasmine has had a passion for basketball for as long as she could remember.

So to bring that passion to Shooting Touch was a big positive for everyone in the organization that she interacted with. Jasmine used her knowledge of basketball to help coach the kids of Rwanda to get better physically and mentally. Besides coaching, Jasmine had fun with the kids by having little pickup games whenever she could.

Matt McGinley, a graduate from Sonoma State University with a degree in Communications, has a lot of skills under his belt. Along with this, Matt has a strong passion for basketball that helps brings the best out of anyone he plays with.

Both Matt and Jasmine coached the younger and older kids on developing their skills on the court throughout their time in Rwanda. Furthermore, Matt tried his best to give the kids some good social skills by keeping track of how they respect one another. Whether it was showing up to practice on time or just listening to the coaches, Matt wanted everyone to respect each other. Past fellow, Lisanne Comeau has been a huge part of taking our programs in Rwanda to a whole other level through her planning, ingenuity, and hard work.

Lisanne, a Canadian citizen, is a graduate of Queens University. Together with Remy Ndiaye, Lisanne oversaw the construction of a basketball court, making it the 5th basketball court that Shooting Touch had constructed in Rwanda. Lisanne organized coaching clinics for Rwandan youth coaches who have shown considerable potential and leadership qualities.

In order to target other underserved population in the community, Lisanne sacrificed the little free time she had left to start up a women's only exercise and empowerment group in Rwinkwavu, the first Shooting Touch location in the Eastern Province. Soon, 20 women were attending every session, playing basketball and challenging gender norms. Lisanne truly embraced all aspects of Rwandan life. In the true spirit of Sport for Development, Remy replicated the change he was once a recipient of.

The hard work of Remy and his partner in crime, Lisanne Comeau, has made the long term dream of Shooting Touch a reality. Upon arrival he and Lisanne were able to take the foundation of the two cohorts before them to start up a youth basketball league between all of the Shooting Touch locations in the Eastern Province.

For the first time ever, teams from Rwinkwavu, Kayonza, Rukara, and Nyamirama were regularly playing against each other during the weekend. Many of these youth had barely ever traveled beyond their villages, so the games were not only a lot of fun, but the journey itself was an experience. The tournament was even recorded and broadcasted nationwide on TV! With on-court activities and a foundation for the youth league, now well-established, Remy and Lisanne were able to put more time and emphasis into health education by designing comprehensive learning sessions and bringing in more medical professionals as guest speakers.

Building on the work of our Fellows, Casey Stockton and Isaura Guzman, Kettl and Dodoo were able to hit the ground running, spending their first month and a half in Gikondo coaching and teaching there before moving to Rwinkwavu and Kayonza respectively.

Throughout his year of service Kevin put his Bentley MBA to great use by building and refurbishing courts in the Eastern province. He coordinated the renovation and expansion of the Kayonza court next to the Kayonza Youth and Friendly Center. Crucially, he identified Rukara as a good place to expand Shooting Touch.

After minor but highly necessary renovations, two courts in Rukara became operational and accessible for more than 3, kids! Kittredge was working as marketing, sales, and PR specialist in the real estate industry when opportunity knocked. As a publicist and jock, Kittredge says she always found sports to be an effective way to reach people.

Soon after, the couple put their heads and hearts together—and Shooting Touch was born. I got there early on my first visit, an hour away from starting, when a middle school basketball team from New Hampshire surprised everyone by showing up early. Shortly after Kittredge and Converse organized the group and began running drills and exercises, teaching while making it fun for all.

Arriving close to 1 p. Talking with a lot of the players, many had been there since 6 a. For more information on Shooting Touch check out their website: www. Follow Dime on Twitter at DimeMag.