Tag Archives: CCL

by norniron | November 7, 2012 · 4:03 pm

Amy Murphy Learns from PPI-NI

Amy Murphy, sporting her pink pants, sits with Coach Joanne Fitzpatrick and several other teammates during the beginning of her involvement with PPI-NI.

PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland (PPI-NI) has been fortunate to have Amy Murphy, a long-time participant and volunteer in our programs, who is completing her school work experience with us for the week. Here, she thinks back on her involvement with PPI-NI.

I have been involved with PeacePlayers for more than five years. I got involved by attending a cross-community league (CCL) in a community center. Every year, I kept coming back to make new friends and play basketball. I hadn’t played before, but I wasn’t too bad. It was the energetic coaches that always made me want to come back. I wanted to be just like them.

As I grew older, I started volunteering at tournaments. First, I was an assistant coach, but eventually I even coached my own team. Then, I started completing Open College Network (OCN) courses to earn qualifications. My desire to stay involved just kept growing.

My favorite memory took place in 2009 at Spring Jam. I was on Joanne Fitzpatrick‘s team, and she was my favorite coach, so I was so excited the day before the event. We made it to the final, and the score was tied 10-all with ten seconds to go. The clock started ticking down, 10, 9, 8… I was bringing the ball up the court. Right before the buzzer, I shot it and it went in, so we won the match. Everyone was hugging me and cheering for me, and I made Joanne proud. I’ll never forget it.

Things have changed a lot around here since when I was in CCL. There is so much more to it, such as the Arbinger Anatomy of Peace trainings. When that was introduced to me, it was so different. It wasn’t just something that could be related to basketball; it was an every day thing that I could use as I looked at people. Am I looking at this person as an object or a person? Or are they just irrelevant to me? PeacePlayers has had a big impact on my life. It has led to what I want to do in the future, which is coach basketball. I’m excited to see what other things PeacePlayers will teach me in the future.

Antrim Cross-Community League

Last semester, you will recall that PPI-NI orchestrated it’s patented Cross-Community Basketball League (CCL) in Antrim between Rathenraw Youth Club, St. Comgall’s Youth Club, and Parkhall Youth Club for kids aged 14-17. It was the first time in a long time that there was collaboration and connection between various youth clubs in the town of Antrim. 20 pupils participated in the programme and were administered PPI-NI’s Open College Network Level I course “Diversity in Sport.” While it was only a 5 week programe, PPI-NI was extremely pleased, but not shocked, to hear that following the programme there was additional cooperation between the three Youth Clubs in various schemes and programmes but also the particiapnts from the three youth clubs would occasionally make plans to see each other socially, away from their Youth Clubs.

With this as a starting point, PPI-NI ran another CCL in Antrim. This time with children aged 9-13 from the three youth clubs in addition to a fourth one, Stiles Youth club, also from Antrim. For the past 5 Thursdays, 25-30 screaming kids would fill the halls of Parkhall Integrated Junior College’s school hall with the sound of bouncing basketballs, bank shots, and community-relations discussions and activities. It was such a success, that 15 members from Rathenraw Youth Club decided to make the 45 minute journey into Belfast on June 2nd to participate in PPI-NI’s year-end Spring Jam tournament. Sometimes, it’s amazing what can happen in just 5 weeks between kids who have never met one another.

Enjoy the video below highlighting some of the scenes from the past 5 weeks. Look out for the special “Jonah Dance!” as performed by Rathenraw’s own Jonah Crawford.

2 Comments

by norniron | June 12, 2012 · 5:34 pm

by norniron | April 6, 2011 · 3:20 pm

PPI – Northern Ireland’s Cross-Community League Wraps Up Next Week

Watch the video above to see this term’s CCL participants showing their enthusiasm for PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland!

After five fun weeks together, next week, unfortunately, is the final session of PPI-NI’s Junior Cross-Community League. The Cross-Community League (previously known as Community Center League) is an evening program that invites children from around Belfast to come together for basketball training, matches, and community relations discussions.

In the past, this program was specifically for the community centers and youth clubs of Belfast. This term, however, PPI-NI extended the CCL invitation to the Twinning participants from Holy Cross Girls Primary School, Wheatfield Primary School, St. Matthew’s Primary School and Avoniel Primary School. The four primary schools from North and East Belfast contribute half of the players at Junior CCL (ages 9-13), who play alongside participants from Whiterock Community Center and Divis Youth Group from West Belfast and Dee Street Community Center and Knocknagoney Community Center from East Belfast.

In addition to basketball practice and league games, all players take part in “Team Talk” where the teams discuss various community relations topics such as identity, assumptions, perceptions, stereotypes, and conflict management. Also new this term, PPI-NI created the position of “Junior Coach” to encourage the senior CCL participants (ages 14-17) to return to the program to help coach and serve as role models for the younger participants.

PPI-NI invited several of the senior CCL participants to return as Junior Coaches who were given assignments as assistant coaches, referees or community relations assistants. PPI-NI would like to wish all the coaches and players good luck for the finals next week and a huge thank you to everyone for their participation this term!