The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- November 23, 1998

Basketball court becomes common ground for different cultures

BY KAY HAWES
STAFF WRITER

A passion for basketball was the common denominator this summer when several coaches joined forces to conduct a free basketball clinic for Navajo children in New Mexico.

More than 200 boys and girls from the Navajo Nation and surrounding towns participated this August in the National Indian Youth Leadership Project Skill Builder Hoop Clinic at the Gallup Cathedral School gymnasium in Gallup, New Mexico.

The clinic featured basketball skills instruction for young people in grades 5-8 in the morning, a joint session over lunch and instruction for grades 9-12 in the afternoon.

And while the clinic focused on developing basketball skills, topics such as academics, avoiding violence and achieving success in life also were on the agenda during lunch.

Clinic director Ken Barer, assistant men's basketball coach at Wright State University, said the coaches came to offer their talents to young people in an area that is often overlooked.

"Our reason for creating this camp is to bridge the gap between our cultures," Barer said. "People tend to underestimate how much in common we have with Native Americans in this country, yet we also tend to greatly underestimate just how vast the differences actually are in our respective cultures and attitudes.

"Our goal is to use a common language, that of basketball, to take an initial step in creating a relationship that will someday be a year-round program bringing the youth of the two cultures together."

The camp, now in its second year, was sponsored by the M.B. Foundation of Connecticut, the National Indian Youth Leadership Project and the Navajo Nation.

The camp's mission statement explains its intent: "Native American youths, especially those on remote, often poverty-stricken reservations, are all too often forgotten. National and even local government programs, many of which are designed to help children growing up in our inner cities, tend to miss these children on the reservation. Our goal is to reach out to these young people and convey a message of caring through a language we all share.

"For many Native American children, basketball is a passion. With our camp, we hope to teach basketball, provide a great time for both players and coaches and perhaps, through our small demonstration of caring, help some young people find an enhanced sense of self-esteem."

Basketball coaches volunteering their time included Barer; Mike Dahlem and Kathy Warner, Wright State assistant coaches; Steve Pikiell, assistant coach at Central Connecticut State University; Dave Manzer, head coach at Messiah College; Larry Mangino, head coach at Ferrum College; Jonah Cohen, a high-school assistant coach from Winsor, Connecticut; and Scott Segar, a high-school assistant coach from Bunnell, Connecticut.

Others donating time included Evan Pickman, a Los Angeles Clippers scout; former professional player Al Lorenzen; and college players Jarvis Mullahon (University of Texas at El Paso), Matt Vail (University of New Mexico), Valaria James (Cochise College) and Sunshine Jim-James (formerly of Colorado College).

Those who put on the camp also spent time in the community, speaking at a youth summit on violence, touring the Navajo Nation Capitol and participating in a celebration and powwow held in their honor.

Barer noted that the experience meant as much to the coaches as it did to the young people. "What's interesting," he said, "is that, though our initial objective is to do something positive for some Navajo youths by showing them caring and respect, what ends up happening is that the coaches who are involved end up taking away much more than they could have imagined."