Baskets dropped, people smiled, and it's safe to say everybody left feeling inspired by this rag-tag family!
What started as an arrogant, over-promising statement in class, turned into a personal lesson of humility, and 23 girls becoming a tight-knit family as a result. I realize that it was originally MLK who said this, but if it’s okay with him I’d like to borrow just a piece of it. “I have a dream”, (here's where our speeches differ a little bit), that girls would be unified, and supported by one another so that they would find belonging and comfort in the community of basketball and that they would find female role models and leaders to look up to and gain advice from.
This was a dream originally, but I am grateful to say that this became a reality. Between the craziness of running the event and the last-minute modifications, I could see mini miracles, and full turns in attitude, composure, and character. These girls were able to thrive given the safe environment, and they took their character development into their own hands. This was "just a school project", to start, but soon became my biggest passion.
Day one of the camp showed the cliques of the group. I first hand observed the friendship bonds, ones so tight that no one else would be let in, yet when I came out to the main space for lunch on day two, I saw every single girl eating together. I didn’t see phones running the show, but rather genuine conversation and fun. That right there was a massive win. We as the coaches of Shoot To Inspire had successfully created a safe, loving family that supported one another.
I witnessed girls who had a hard time initiating conversation, or even introducing themselves and stuttering on their names, turn into encouraging each other audibly or communicating the improvement they saw from their peers. They were able to open their eyes to those around them and understand the diversity that the group had. We all came from different backgrounds, schools, and families, yet were there for the same reason.
I saw these girls learn a level of humility and respect for others in less than 48 hours. These are skills that often take years to grasp for the typical adult, yet these skills developed so quickly in these young firecrackers. Some came in with a level of entitlement, believing that no improvement was needed in their game, yet when the drills began, and they saw others, and coaches' abilities, they began to ask questions, putting their heads down and working to improve. The girls weren’t the only ones with a humble wake-up call. This whole event was a major step in my personal character development.
Initially, I underestimated the work I needed to put into having a successful camp. I dove in, not realizing how greatly this would impact my life. Being a senior in high school doesn’t allow for much free time, not to mention sleep, so adding a weekend-long camp onto this workload (a camp that would take place three days before a provincial exam), pushed me to a new level of mental strength and perseverance. This was a large challenge that I initially overlooked, but quickly learned that this wasn’t something I could tackle alone. I had to rely on my community, my chosen family to help me pull this off. I spent every spare second I had attempting to absorb all the wisdom I could from my role models and leaders in my life, eager to pull this thing off and show that age doesn’t restrict you from accomplishing big goals. I learned that challenging things were within my reach, as long as I continued to persevere through hardships and keep my head up when curveballs were thrown my way. I would not have changed a single thing - these girls were exactly who I needed in my journey of growth. They rocked my world, and my support system kept me standing.
I saw future leaders emerge through gameplay, saw an eager bunch of girls who desperately wanted an opportunity to learn, and invest themselves fully, and saw enough smiles to make all of the stress worth it. Shoot To Inspire season one took Steinbach by storm, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the town.
This isn’t the end for this family. We have coaches from the camp leading teams into playoffs, we have players hitting buzzer beaters, drilling mid-range buckets, contested lay-ups, and most importantly, bringing integrity, humility, and encouragement to the court. Shoot To Inspire apparel has been spotted town-wide, and this is just the start.
Grateful is the simplest term I can use to describe how I feel coming out of this experience. Thank you for coming along for the ride. Stay tuned Shoot To Inspire fam, this 17-year-old isn’t finished, but rather full of surprises!
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