I WAS watching the Miami Heat play most of the game behind the New Orleans Hornets on Saturday (I am currently stalking LeBron James in the hope he has enough money and will come and play basketball here).
In the second half, the game announcers said that Hornets’ point guard Chris Paul had donated NZ$629,000 to an after school programme in New Orleans. The programme not only focuses on sports, but on arts, crafts, music and homework help. It’s a bit like some of the programmes we have here for gifted kids, where their abilities are enhanced and developed, but this is for everyone.
Now Chris Paul earns roughly NZ$19 million a season, so he can probably afford to fire $629,000 at this programme. Turns out he does a whole lot of stuff like this through the Chris Paul Foundation.
It reminded me of a conversation I had last week with a major community funder about their favourite sports.
“It has to be basketball. The number of phone calls, letters and emails we get from school principals, parents, kids, and others thanking us for funding school programmes is just overwhelming during a season [of the New Zealand National Basketball League].”
What about rugby, I asked. “We don’t get the same level of response. It’s more a meet and greet rather than the skills development sessions done by basketball.”
Basketball has always had a bit of a softer image off court (Dennis Rodman aside) than most sports. I watched a skills session or three by NBL players last year and couldn’t decide whether the kids enjoyed it so much because a) the players came down to their (metaphorical) level, b) the sessions went for ages, c) there was a ‘no kid left behind’ policy – i.e. if they didn’t get a skill, they would be given one-on-one coaching to try and help them master it, or d) most likely, a combination of all three.
Aside from one particular ITM Cup rugby player, my two nippers have never been particularly interested in idolizing sports people (apart from their broken down old father, of course).
The smallest one took a shine last year to an NBL centre. To the point where he was stalking him whenever we were around the team.
The oldest just about shed a tear last week when I told him his favourite small forward was unlikely to be back for the 2011 NBL.
Now I am not saying these guys are saints. They’re not. What they are good at is teaching kids how to play basketball and making it fun, and most importantly, showing an interest in every single child.
Basketball is probably in a better position than most sports. Rowing, for example, despite its fabulous world championships, can’t fire five-year olds in a skiff. Touch, as the Big Nipper found out, is no good if you’re not the fastest mover on the field. Rugby…well…
You can be uncoordinated and pick up the basic basketball skills if you’re shown the right techniques. You can be short (my five-year-old Peanut is) and still have fun.
While it’s great for the kids, it’s even better for the local association, who sees not only a new group of kids coming through to play, but also has a new vital funding link for their shoestring budget because of the widespread support and appreciation of community funders like the one mentioned above.
Basketball has a relatively high profile at the top level here. At the bottom, the development is building. Imagine if we had a Chris Paul or two…