Me, Sam, Annika, Zoie & Jazmine. Jazmine volunteers by assisting me on Saturdays.
We’re in a gym! On Saturday, September 9th we began our very first Saturday Skills Clinic and it was in a gym! One of my biggest hopes for TRUCE this past year has been to get access to a gymnasium to host programs and in September that became a reality.
Saturday Skills Clinic has easily become my favorite two hours of the week. The clinic is for girls in grades second through eighth and already we’ve had 4 new girls join us and I am expecting more to join us this Saturday.
As new girls join with little to no basketball experience and unsure of what training will consist of I am reminded of the sweet journey I’ve been on with Annika and Sam who first started training with me in the spring. I am reminded of the days earlier this year where Annika and Sam were more on the quiet side around me, unsure of who I was and what exactly we’d be doing on the basketball court. Now, 6 months later, Annika and Sam enter the gym excitedly, ready for me to ask them how they’re doing and how their week was. They are more confident in their ability to do the skills and drills we’ve already done and more courageous to try new skills and drills. And now that Annika and Sam are the veterans, I am empowering them to lead more during clinics and help the younger, less experienced girls.
This is such a sweet and perfectly timed reminder as I am beginning to build relationships with the new girls. Annika and Sam are reminders and testaments that girls are not only developing on the basketball court but more importantly as holistic leaders on and off the court. I can only imagine the increased amount of reminders and testimonies I’ll have after we complete our fall Saturday Skills Clinic in December.
Zoie, a student from Dubai that was visiting Phoenix and joined us on Saturdays
DID YOU KNOW…
“Between the ages of 8 and 14, girls’ confidence levels fall by 30 percent.” (The New York Times, The Confidence Gap for Girls: 5 Tips for Parents of Tween and Teen Girls).
Research throughout the years has shown a positive correlation between girls playing sports and increased confidence. At TRUCE we are committed to providing spaces for girls to develop on the basketball court, but most importantly to develop as confident and equipped leaders on and off the court.
THANK YOU!!!
Thank you for your support in the mission and vision of TRUCE Basketball. Whether you’ve supported TRUCE with your finances, prayers, encouragement, or guidance I am forever grateful. TRUCE can’t do what it does and won’t be all that it was founded to do without the support of generous and compassionate individuals like yourself. Again, thank you!
Gabrielle Clark – TRUCE Basketball Academy Founder & Executive Director
