Here at the NBA Basketball School in Dubai, our Girl’s Program is growing faster than ever! Ten months ago we had a few girls in the school that played on various boy’s teams. Today, we have seven all girl’s teams that get to represent a huge part of who we are in Dubai. We are hopeful that by the end of Term Three, there will be TEN separate girl’s teams in the program.
It is so important for our NBA Basketball School to represent our girls; to empower them to make a statement in the sports world here in Dubai, and to give them the confidence and support to know that they have every opportunity that the boys do on the court. Every practice the girls are growing as players, as well as leaders; learning from our two women’s coaches Katie Batlin and Mia Galvin.
Coach Mia had this to say: “Being one of the two female coaches in this program is one of the greatest responsibilities I’ve ever had. Everyday I try my best to be a strong role model for all of our kids, but specifically our girl’s teams. The NBA Basketball School is a place where they can feel empowered.”
Coach Katie had this to say: “Being a part of this project, and the girl’s program specifically, has changed my life. To have the opportunity to make a daily impact not only through teaching the fundamentals of basketball, but perhaps more importantly, teaching everyone about life and the valuable lessons we learn daily, means everything to me. I love getting to be a role model to these young girls, leading by example and showing them that it’s important to speak up and be confident in themselves. I love encouraging our girls to speak in front of the rest of the school and also to beat the boys when we scrimmage at practice. The environment we are creating is not just to encourage the girls, it is also to help encourage and teach the boys to respect and value the girls around them. I look forward to helping this girl’s program grow and become one of the largest of its kind here in the UAE.”
If you are interested in learning more about our girl’s program or participating in it, please email info@nbaschooluae.com
