5th AOA Basketball Clinic Tips Off Today in Ogun State

Innovations bordering on life skills, good hygiene and humanitarian services will dominate this year’s edition of Adeola Oluwatoyin Ajayi  AOA Basketball clinic which tips off today 17 April 2024 in Sango Ota, Ogun State.

The three day annual programme will see over 150 campers, boys and girls, soak up basic education on the game like passing, dribbling, footwork and ball handling.

Aside teaching the rudiments of basketball, the project initiator Adeola Ajayi explained that the scope of this year’s exercise had been expanded to school the kids on life-changing skills after the game.

“This camp is all about giving back to the kids. It’s about using basketball as a conduit to be able to influence the kids’ life in thinking outside the box because basketball will one day stop, what next can you do,” Ajayi pointed out.

“That’s why we’ve been coming for the past 5yrs now, just to create a memorable experience for these kids by kitting everybody, supplying all the basic gears like shoes, jerseys, even feeding them, so that they would be able to enjoy the camp.”

This is the second year running that girls would be a part of the event, and one of the camp directors coach Shola Shomala of First Bank Women’s Basketball Club is excited at the progress the ladies have made.

“Last year was a very wonderful one. Apart from learning basketball, we learnt how to make things like soap, air freshener and all that. It’s a skill every girl should know, to be able to help them, help their parents pull through,” she said.

“This year when they come we gonna see how much they’ve grown in their skills in basketball. And we thank God for Adeola for bringing some female doctors from the US to really put the girls through.”

One of the female medical personnel, Dr Heavenly Kimes, a dentist, was overjoyed at visiting Africa for the first time, promising to bring her wealth of experience in her field to bear on the girls’ careers.

Another visiting camp coordinator Curtis Berry, a basketball coach, also from the US, has decided to sponsor construction of a borehole in the community with the help of his wife.

To set the tone for what promises to be a fulfilling camp exercise, the organisers, in their awareness campaign yesterday donated bags of rice and oil to underprivileged families of some of the campers.

The AOA Foundation Clinic ends on Friday 19 April 2024 with certificates and awards given to deserving athletes.