Every single performance was simply amazing and there was a fun, festive atmosphere with give aways and crowd interaction.  The most powerful moment came when Dajuan Eubanks took the mic and began to share his story, some of the things he overcame to find success and the work that he put in to achieve some of his dreams and goals.  You could hear a pin drop when the 6’9 Eubanks placed a red white and blue basket ball next to his Harlem Globetrotter uniform at center court and spoke of travelling around the globe as the premier showman for the most famous basketball team in the world.  As he pointed to his uniform, he spoke about the fact that the uniform has never defined him, he defined the uniform.  He challenged the crowd, made up mostly of residents of the low income housing unit know affectionately as ‘Hyde Park’, to ‘never’ allow your circumstances to define who you are as a person, you define your own destiny.”  The honorary member of the basketball hall of fame, then spoke about the fact that he was a victim of bullying.  He reinforced my challenge to young people that are bullying to consider the repercussions of their actions and asked anyone who may be a victim of harassment, intimidation or any form of physical, or emotional bullying to take action.  He gave them several resources and spoke from his heart about his own experiences, challenges and what he overcame to find success in many areas of life.  I couldn’t have been anymore excited to have the opportunity to expose my community to such a great man.  I’m already looking at next year’s event.  I’m also working to package this program and take it into schools to help educate as many young people as possible on this incredibly important issue.  

 This was the very first camp that I’ve held for folks with special needs and it couldn’t have possible gone any better!  I’ve found over the years that the game of basketball can be an amazingly powerful vehicle to help those who live with developmental challenges to overcome many of the obstacles that they often struggle with. Communication, working together as a team to accomplish a goal, following the instructions of a coach or captain, sportsmanship, learning to win and lose gracefully, respect etc. The game instills a sense of self confidence and can boost the self esteem of anyone who is willing to work at it!
My hope is to do more camps like this in the future.  I’ll be reaching out to schools and agencies around the state this year, to work more with their young people and adults with special needs.  I hope to be able to show people just how therapeutic the game of basketball can be!  There are so many things that the game can teach us all about life!  The game has a way of rewarding hard work and punishing you if you don’t put in the work you should.

I thank God that over the past 11 years I’ve been blessed to be in a position to see this game touch the lives of some of God’s most precious creatures and I look forward to working with our friends with special needs in the future through this great game of basketball!

Click on this link for Times Record story about our camp,

 ”A Dream That You ‘Swish’ May Come True” Special Needs Camp Story