Tag Archives: Joanne Fitzpatrick

by | May 15, 2013 · 2:30 pm

Are you a Champion 4 Peace?

Champion (Champ-eeh-on) - noun:

  1. a person who has defeated all opponents in a competition or series of competitions, so as to hold first place.
  2. anything that takes first place in competition.
  3. an animal that has won a certain number of points in officially recognized shows.
  4. a person who fights for or defends any person or cause.
  5. a fighter or warrior.

Champion 4 Peace:

  1. Someone who catalyzes positive social change, thereby creating a more peaceful society.

Each year PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland brings together 2,000 young Catholics and Protestants from areas least likely to embrace peace or coexistence efforts, and uses sport  as a tool to help them understand and overcome conflict. Last year PPI-NI introduced the Ambassador Programme, which gave participants a voice and the opportunity to lead the programmes in which they were involved. The goal was to create a class of new PPI leaders, young champions for peace who actively contribute to creating a more peaceful society.

This year the programme got a face-lift – the programme was split into Juniors (11-13) and Seniors (14-18) and renamed “Champions 4 Peace” (C4P). Over the next few months our Senior C4Ps will be working on fundraising, event planning, and facilitation skills, while the Junior C4Ps work on a fundraising event, recruitment of new C4Ps, and volunteering at the Spring Jam Tournament. In addition, both groups have shown an interest in developing a documentary film as a way of recruiting new members!

Are you a Champion 4 Peace? Share your story in the comments or on Facebook and Twitter.

If you are interested in getting more information about the PPI-NI Champions 4 Peace programme or want to help in any way with the programme, please contact Joanne Fitzpatrick at jfitzpatrick@peaceplayersintl.org.

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by | April 3, 2013 · 4:19 pm

PPI-NI Partners with the Together, Stronger Programme

In the sporting world, symbols like this "Tri-Color" can cause charged emotional responses, depending on one's own identity.

In the sporting world, symbols like this “Tri-Color” can cause charged emotional responses, depending on one’s own identity.

This week, PeacePlayers International (PPI-NI) started an eight-week diversity-through-sport programme with partners from 174 Trust. The programme is part of a wider project called Together, Stronger which aims at breaking down barriers around the highly-contested space of Carlisle Circus in North Belfast. PPI-NI partnered up with 174 Trust last year to deliver the community-relations-through-sport component of the project.

This year PPI-NI is piloting a new look diversity-through-sport programme which involves visits to sporting events as well as a heavy emphasis on Arbinger material. Led by PPI-NI project coordinators Darryl Petticrew and Joanne Fitzpatrick, the aim of the programme is to explore symbols and identity at sporting events that some people may not attend due to their religious or political background.

PPI-NI International Fellow Chris Schumerth (left) was joined by his family, during their recent visit from the United States, for the Northern Ireland-Israel World Cup qualifier.

PPI-NI International Fellow Chris Schumerth (left) was joined by his family, during their recent visit from the United States, for the Northern Ireland-Israel World Cup qualifier.

This week, the group of 25 young people went to a Northern Ireland soccer game, where they played in a World Cup qualifier against Israel. Unfortunately NI came out of the game with a two-nil loss to the visiting side. One of the interesting aspects of this game was the close links of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to Northern Ireland’s own context.

All members of the group came out of the game very positive, with some challenging thoughts about their experience,  which will be unpacked at our next session this Thursday. PPI-NI is very excited about this programme and the potential to replicate more like it in the future.

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by | August 8, 2012 · 7:30 pm

New Fellow Megan Lynch (PPI-NI) Takes a Tour of Belfast

As a way of welcoming the newest addition PPI-NI’s team, International Fellow Megan Lynch was taken by fellow Fellow Rory O’Neil and Project Coordinator Joanne Fitzpatrick on a quick tour of North and West Belfast. Megan was shown all the schools and community centres that PeacePlayers International-Northern Ireland works in these areas. Joanne takes us on their tour of North and West Belfast.

The first part of the tour was through the Ardoyne area in North Belfast, known more recently for its rioting during the 12th July marches, but known more fondly in PPI-NI as the place where a PeacePlayers t-shirt can be spotted after turning every corner. The tour continued down the Ardoyne Road, past the Peace Wall on Alliance Avenue, into the Glenbryn area where primary school twinning partners Holy Cross Girls and Wheatfield were pointed out. We drove down and stopped in to visit the Jolly Rancher Centre, a local community centre for the Glenbryn area, where a plethora of Wheatfield children ran on the streets in front.

We continued back through Ardoyne, waving to participants of our Advanced Leadership Programme and Primary School Twinning Programme as they shouted back, “See you at Seaview!”. We traveled out  onto the Crumlin road and turned right onto Tennant St., where waves of red, white, and blue began to appear- and where we could tell we were hitting the Shankill Road. There were hundreds upon thousands of flags blowing in the wind as we made our way down towards the Shankill Estate. As we turned into the estate, we were joined by several other travelers in the Loyalist tourist hot spot. When you turn 360 degrees, it’s very apparent as to why this is so popular with tour guides. Trying to take in all the murals takes about 15-20 mins, as nearly every end house has a mural depicting something important to the community. One mural in particular never ceases to amaze me- watch the video below to see that the picture follows you as you walk around it.

After we took in the very informative murals in the Shankill Estate, we hopped back in the car, made our way back up the Shankill Road, and turned down Lanark Way towards Springfield Road, travelling through our first peace wall of the day. We drove past St. Clare’s primary school (a PeacePlayers twinning school), and then over to Bombay St. to visit a memorial for those who have lost their lives in the greater Clonard area of West Belfast. Again, we were joined by many black taxis full of tourists. Here, in August 1969,  violent sectarian riots led to exchanges of gunfire and the burning of houses and businesses. Many believe that the events that transpired on Bombay St. in the summer of 1969 gave rise to “The Troubles”.

International Fellows Rory O’Neil and Megan Lynch check out the murals on Northumberland St., beside the peace wall that separates the Shankill Road and the Falls Road.

We made our way to Northumberland St., where we took in colourful murals that led us onto the Falls Road. We traveled up the Falls Road to see posters everywhere for the Feile and Phobail (Festival of the People), which is fully underway in the Falls area of West Belfast. We took a right and traveled up towards the Whiterock Community Centre to pay a visit to Sean “Topper” Thompson. There, we were greeted by the cheers of several of our participants from our Cross Community League, along with Junior Coach Michaela Thompson, who has been a PeacePlayers participant for nearly seven years and will shortly be moving into the role of Senior Coach.

As we left the community centre, we stood at the foot of Blacks Mountain and took in the amazing view of Belfast City. I thought to myself…I love this city!

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by | June 6, 2012 · 9:40 am

PPI – Northern Ireland’s Spring Jam 2012

International Fellow Meghan Houlihan pictured with Spring Jam 2012 champions Liberty, coached by Advanced Leadership Programme participant Ashling Hughes

This week Project Coordinator Joanne Fitzpatrick looks back at the highlights from the past weekend’s Spring Jam 2012 tournament

Spring Jam 2012 was something of an emotional rollercoaster for many on Saturday 2nd June, as we celebrated the end of our programming year with a great basketball tournament whilst simultaneously saying goodbye to beloved staff members Tony McGaharan, Meghan Houlihan, Rory O’Neil and intern Garry Longfield.

The warm-up team of International Fellow Rory O’Neil and Project Coordinators Darryl Petticrew and Joanne Fitzpatrick opened the day by leading the collection of players and volunteers in the Cha Cha Slide, the Electric Slide and, no PPI-NI tournament would be complete without, the Party Rock Anthem (AKA the shuffle).

The highly sought-after Hustle and Spirit Awards along with the new addition of the Brooklyn Nets caps

Spring Jam seen many a strong bonds built through the various activities on the day. Each team played six basketball matches, participated in two team-building games and even squeezed in a game of basketball jeopardy. In my four and a half years at PeacePlayers, this being my 11th tournament, I’ve never seen a more impressive sight than looking across the sports hall in Stranmillis College to see hundreds of high fives between teammates. To the untrained eye, they looked like the oldest of friends, but many of these boys and girls only met eachother for the first time when they put their team shirt on.

Spring Jam is all about embracing the three components of PeacePlayers; bridging divides, developing leaders and changing perceptions. Each team was mixture of participants from primary schools and community centres all over Co. Antrim, giving the kids the opportunity to not only meet a new teammate from “the other side” of an interface, but also from the other side of the county.

Bridging divides, developing leaders and changing perceptions in Co. Antrim!

The day, of course, wouldn’t happen without the help of our volunteers. Many of our volunteers this year were made up of participants from our Advanced Leadership Programme (ALP), one of which managed to lead her team to the finals and win.

Each year four participants are rewarded for being a great team-mate, showing respect and sportsmanship, playing hard and never giving up. These awards are called the Spirit and Hustle awards, winners are presented with a trophy and, this year, a Brooklyn Nets cap.

The competition was fierce, the smiles were huge and the slap of the high fives could be heard throughout the building, in my eyes this was the best tournament I’ve been to during my time at PeacePlayers.

What is PeacePlayers?

SWEET TO THE BEAT!

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by | May 2, 2012 · 2:12 pm

PPI-NI’s Senior Girls Advanced Leadership Program at Greenhill

The Senior CCL girls complete Arbinger curriculum activities.

This past weekend, PeacePlayers International-Northern Ireland  (PPI-NI) brought together 11 girls aged 15-16 for an Advanced Leadership Program (ALP) residential at Greenhill YMCA, Co. Down. The majority of the girls came from our Senior Girls Cross-Community League (CCL) and a few from our partnership with the Young Enterprise Northern Ireland (YENI) program, for which we delivered our Level 1 accredited course in Understanding Diversity in Sport.

The weekend included activities such as a campfire!

Each of the participants were selected based on their outstanding participation and enthusiasm for PPI-NI programs. During the weekend, the girls participated in our Level II accredited course in Promoting Diversity through Sport, which is designed in an interactive format to show how we can transfer lessons on the court, off the court. Local Project Coordinator Joanne Fitzpatrick and Fellow Rory O’Neil had the honor of delivering the course. Also incorporated into the Level II is a section looking at the Arbinger Institute’s conflict resolution philosophies, which are used throughout PeacePlayers International’s global programs.

As well as participating in the course, the girls also had time to enjoy some team-building in a competitive game of Lazer Tag, and further developed relationships in their free time at the campfire, making smores and choreographing a dance routine!

Local Project Coordinator, Darryl Petticrew commented on the weekend:

“For me, the most important thing about our program is developing new relationships among the young people we work with. Having been part of PPI-NI for almost five years, hearing a group of young people say that they don’t want to go home, gives me the impression that the girls had a blast and that we are doing a good job!”

The video below will give you an insight into the weekend, and the amazing time we had together!

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by | April 25, 2012 · 1:47 pm

All-Star Sunday in Belfast

PPI-NI's very own Coach Tony emceed the event.

PeacePlayers International first came to Northern Ireland in 2002, and since then, the organization has become well known throughout the different communities across the province. Through the involvement of our American fellows in local basketball clubs, PPI-NI has been able to build strong relationships within the Northern Ireland basketball community.

On Sunday 22nd April, several members of the PPI-NI staff participated in the inaugural All-Star basketball event, which took place in the University of Ulster, Jordanstown.

A golden ball for the All Star!

The event was organized by the Courtside Collective, including local PPI-NI Project Coordinator, Tony McGaharan, who emceed the event. Fellow Meghan Houlihan finished third the in the coed 3-point shoot-out, just missing out for a spot in the finals, and Fellow Rory Leddy O’Neil and local coach Connor McElroy were voted in as All-Stars and represented Belfast in the exhibition game. Local Coordinators Joanne Fitzpatrick and Darryl Petticrew played their role as the entertainment coordinators, running competitions for children during the time-outs and quarter breaks, while Gareth Harper, PPI-NI’s Managing Director, brought his entire family to support the event.

The event was another great example of how sport can bring people together, regardless of background, nationality or religion; a core theme of the PPI mission. The two All-Star teams comprised players from across Northern Ireland and spectators  travelled from as a far a field as County Donegal, Armagh, Newry and L-Derry to watch their favorite players.

Click here to view the BBC Newsline report.

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by | November 9, 2011 · 3:05 pm

Joanne Fitzpatrick: My Week Sharing PPI’s Curriculum

Last week, Joanne Fitzpatrick left Belfast to share her knowledge with community sports organizations in London and Chicago.

This week, PeacePlayers International-Northern Ireland (PPI-NI) Local Coordinator Joanne Fitzpatrick talks about her experiences at the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation World Summit and workshops with Chicago partners Beyond the Ball.

Last week I did more travelling than I’ve ever done in my life – all in the name of PPI’s Peace Education Curriculum, developed in partnership with Arbinger. My first stop was London. Upon landing in Heathrow airport, I couldn’t wait to meet the other Laureus partners and learn about their organisations. After settling into our hotel, PPI-NI fellow Rory O’Neil and I set off on a spot of sightseeing, taking in as much of London’s hotspots as our train tickets would allow.

Joanne delivered a showcase of PPI's training during the Laureus World Sport Summit in London.

On Tuesday evening, we joined PeacePlayers International-South Africa’s Managing Director, Sbo Vilakazi, and PeacePlayers International’s (PPI) Technical Assistance Programme Director, Brian Cognato, and dined at the Hard Rock Café – the perfect environment to mingle with the other representatives from the summit. I fully embraced this opportunity,  learning from and engaging with organisations based in South Africa, Spain, Australia and Argentina.

Wednesday was the big day for Rory, Brian, Sbo and I, showcasing PPI’s on-the-court Arbinger drills. We had some very interesting conversations with the other representatives, who gave it their all on the court. Getting to show the world what PeacePlayers has to offer was a brilliant experience for me, and one that I won’t soon forget. As soon as we finished at the Laureus Sport for Good World Summit, we said our goodbyes and Brian and I jetted off to Chicago.

Joanne does her thing on the court.

Thursday allowed for some free time and some more sightseeing. Chicago is a beautiful city and full of friendly folk. On Thursday evening, Brian and I met up with Chad Ford, professor of conflict research at Brigham Young University-Hawaii and writer for ESPN.com, and two of his students, Monique Mullenaux and Rachelle Christy to discuss our plan for Friday’s Arbinger seminar. We then made the trip out to Little Village where we met up with Rob and Mike from Beyond the Ball for some traditional Mexican food and to share stories from our organisations.

On Friday, Chad, Brian, Monique, Rachelle and I travelled out to Little Village again, this time with bagels and coffee in hand, something that is not traditionally done in Northern Ireland – that’s for sure!  Chad led the Choice seminar with Monique, Rachelle and I assisting with certain sections. I personally told and diagrammed my story of ‘self-betrayal.’ Having the opportunity to work alongside Chad Ford is one I am truly grateful for. To celebrate a great seminar, Chad, Rachelle, Monique, Brian and I went for dinner at a Cajun restaurant where I tried catfish, fried corn bread, French fries and cheesy grits. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it out alive due to the copious amount of fried food on my plate. After struggling my way through my giant plate of food, we walked back to our hotels and I got a good rest ahead of my big day.

Joanne led a session with Chicago partners Beyond the Ball.

Saturday was a big day for me personally, having been given the responsibility of the session plan and facilitation. Representatives from Beyond the Ball, the South Chicago Neighborhood House and World Sport Chicago were in attendance, and we had a great group of participants ready to get into some of our Arbinger drills. I was pretty nervous, but thankfully I was wearing my Lucky Charms shorts and everything went well.

I am eternally grateful for getting this opportunity and wish to thank everyone involved with both projects – Brian for being a great tour guide in Chicago, Monique and Rachelle for backseat giggles, and Chad for introducing me to several new types of potato.

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by | November 7, 2011 · 2:31 pm

PPI in London and Chicago

Today’s post comes from PPI’s Technical Assistance Program Director, Brian Cognato.

For the past few months, PeacePlayers International (PPI) has been developing a new technical assistance and training program, designed to share what the organization has learned over a decade of bridging divides, developing leaders and changing perceptions with other organizations all over the world interested in using sport to improve their communities.

Joanne Fitzpatrick explains The Anatomy of Peace to Laureus Ambassadors and delegates alike in London.

We’ve been working on this mostly behind the scenes so far, conscious that a useful training program requires more than a good resume and a seminar here and there. Training and technical assistance is a different animal than running your own programs, and we’ve taken that challenge seriously, learning all we can about the field and best practices before launching.

With two events in the past week, however, we’re proud to move our technical assistance services from behind the curtain and into the public eye. Not that we’re finished learning – quite to the contrary, we’re learning more every day – but now we’re eager to share what we can do with the rest of the world.

The Peace Day Tournament in Cyprus is only one event made possible by Laureus' support at PPI.

This past week’s first event was the Laureus Sports for Good Foundation Global Summit, held from Oct. 30th to Nov. 2nd in London. The Laureus Sports for Good Foundation has been one of PPI’s longest standing partners, providing our very first institutional grant in 2002. The Foundation supports organizations all over the world using  sport to improve communities, and – for the first time ever this year – it brought them all together to share knowledge and experiences. We were lucky enough to be able to facilitate two sessions at the Summit, one working alongside Cindy Coltman of Women Win on “Breaking Barriers through Sport” and one with a PPI all-star team including Joanne Fitzpatrick and Rory O’Neil from PPI – Northern Ireland and Sbo Vilakazi from PPI – South Africa.

This last session spotlighted PPI’s unique approach to peace education, combining a curriculum developed in partnership with an American consulting firm called The Arbinger Institute with participatory basketball activities. PPI believes this curriculum is crucial to its approach to peacebuilding – allowing it to illustrate to young people the dynamics that cause conflict in the first place, so that our programs go beyond simple “contact” – and the Laureus attendees who sampled the curriculum seemed to agree, including Academy Members like Mick Doohan and Dawn Frazier, who participated in some of the activities.

Chad Ford presents The Anatomy of Peace to seminar attendees.

The week’s second event focused even more on this approach to peacebuilding, as Joanne Fitzpatrick made the trek from London to join PPI’s long-time friend and go-to peacebuilding guru Chad Ford in Chicago. Ford is both a writer for ESPN.com and a professor of conflict resolution at Brigham Young University Hawaii. (For the record, that’s a combined 8,204 miles of travel between them.) PPI partnered with Beyond the Ball, which uses basketball to engage young people in Little Village, to offer an introductory clinic in its approach to peacebuilding through sport to organizations through the city using basketball for youth development, including the South Chicago Neighborhood House, Enlace Chicago, The Crece Foundation, the Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation, Positive Coaching Alliance – Chicago, Claretian Associates, CLOCC and World Sport Chicago.

In an on-court session, Rob Castaneda of Beyond the Ball explains what he thinks about PPI's approach.

Over the next few months, PPI is going to help Beyond the Ball add a new element to their already robust curriculum, aimed at giving young people a specific way to understand conflict and their role as influencers in their community. The lessons learned in that project will then be shared with other organizations as they too try to give young people in Chicago a new tool to overcome conflict.

Watch PPI’s website and this space for more about these events – both of which are only the first stages in multistage collaborations – and PPI’s technical assistance program in general. If you’re interested in PPI’s technical assistance and training services, contact Brian Cognato at bcognato@peaceplayersintl.org.

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by | September 29, 2011 · 12:55 pm

Just Across the Road

Over the years, PeacePlayers International’s relationship with Holy Cross Girls and Wheatfield Primary Schools has gone from strength to strength: moving from single identity sessions in each school with a one-off twinning at the end of the term, to both schools participating in the full twinning experience from Primary 4 (2nd Grade) to Primary 7 (5th Grade). The reason we have been able to engage with the schools on this level is not only due to the schools’ increasing trust in PeacePlayers but also, their trust in eachother. The two schools have worked together on several projects in the past; however, this year, PeacePlayers is the only cross-community programme in which both schools are involved.

Last week, Local Coordinator Joanne Fitzpatrick and International Fellow Meghan Houlihan visited both of the Primary 6 (4th Grade) classes for session one of the eight-week programme. Session one is used as a refresher for the 9 year-olds, during which time we discussed their expectations and reiterated “The PPI Way”.

Yesterday, pupils from Wheatfield Primary School visited Holy Cross Girls Primary School for their first twinning session. This visit may be viewed by outsiders as a short walk ‘just across the road’, but the locals understand the significance of these pupils crossing the road and playing basketball together.  The pupils seem to have lost any fear there may have once been and instead are filled with curiosity and excitement.

Holy Cross Girls greeted Wheatfield with big smiles and schoolgirl giggles. Next, Wheatfield was given some insight as to what it’s like being a ‘Holy Cross Girl’ during their welcome presentation. The girls discussed the various activities they do at school; sports, Irish dancing and art. They also listed some of the annual school events such as their Halloween Hoolie, where each pupil wears their Halloween costume for a school-wide competition, and the St. Patrick’s Day Ceili, where the school celebrates the life of St. Patrick through song and dance. The pupils from Wheatfield then got the opportunity to ask the girls some questions.

After a few icebreakers and energizers, the pupils were split into four teams and were introduced to their new teammates and coaches. At this point, we ask each team to create a new team name and team cheer. Unfortunately, the team cheers were not caught on camera, as this was by far the most creative naming ceremony in PeacePlayers history. Firstly we met ‘Team Toast’ who Local Coach Tony McGaharan lead in a group huddle which resembled three of the players as slices of bread popping out of a toaster. Next up was Local Coordinator Darryl Petticrew with the “Basket-Bowlers” and their team chant included the players being knocked down by a “bowling basketball”. International Fellow Rory O’Neil was next up to introduce his team, “The Peace-Out Peeps” who were definitely the coolest dudes in the room at the time. Finally, International Fellow Meghan Houlihan’s team, WheatCross, who performed a modified rendition of Kriss-Kross’ “Jump”, dominated the team introduction session. Singing the lyrics “WheatCross will make ya jump jump, Coach Meghan makes us jump jump”, complete with dance moves and topped of with splits from the girls and a backflip from Luke from Wheatfield.

Teams then competed in dribble relays and discussed the similarities and differences found within their team. The session was finished with the PeacePlayers-Northern Ireland’s native call: “What is PeacePlayers? Sweet to the beat!” and every kid left the gym with a smile and a high-five.

A great end to a spectacular day!

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by | August 24, 2011 · 1:52 pm

Local coach Jonathon Rooney talks about his first year with PPI-NI

Jonny showing PeacePlayers pride with the pupils from St Clare’s and Carr’s Glen primary schools at their recent “Super Twinning” tournament.

In this week’s blog, Local Coordinator Joanne Fitzpatrick interviews coach Jonathan Rooney as we approach his one-year anniversary as a coach within the organization.

Jonny (right of the coach) pictured with Local Coordinator Darryl Petticrew (holding cup) winning the All-Ireland Schools Cup for St Malachy’s College Belfast.

Jonny, tell the World Wide Web a bit about yourself.

My full name is Jonathan James Joseph Rooney. I was born and raised in North Belfast. I attended St. Malachy’s College and first started playing basketball with Star of the Sea, a local basketball club in Belfast, at the age of 9. I am now a student at Queen’s University in Belfast studying medicine going into my 2nd year; I plan on being the next eternal student!

So, how did you first get involved in PeacePlayers?

My first experience of PeacePlayers was back in 2008 when I was asked to help out at Spring Jam. I had coaching experience previously through programs in local Belfast primary schools, but the scale of Spring Jam and the atmosphere blew me away! At the start of last year, PPI-NI appealed for coaches online and I felt it was a great opportunity to once again get involved.

Why do you think PeacePlayers is important in Northern Ireland?

In areas of Northern Ireland, children have instilled into them opinions and perceptions of neighboring communities that creates tension and fear. PeacePlayers helps change these perceptions that the children have and helps them to realize all children have similarities despite their background. The children build lasting cross-community friendships through PeacePlayers’ programs, encouraging them to move past stereotypes and allowing them to educate their friends that the boys and girls ‘round the corner aren’t so different from them.

Jonny at Spring Jam 2011. Former PPI-NI Program Director Harry Morra has said in the past, “You can tell how good a coach is by looking at a photograph: the more kids looking at him in the picture, the better the coach.”

What has been you favorite moment since working for PeacePlayers?

My favorite memory with PeacePlayers was at the Super Twinnings held in Stranmillis. It was the first time this project had been attempted and it was a huge success. My favorite memory was during the final when each twinning partners supported their teammates on court. The noise was deafening, the songs were fantastic and the team t-shirts were being waved like flags. At that time, the kids completely forgot about Catholic or Protestant and became two very passionate basketball teams– it was fantastic to watch!

Finally: if you were a basketball, where in the world would you bounce and why?

With the NBA on lock out at the minute, if I were a basketball I’d say I’d bounce over to the Cameron Stadium, Duke University’s home court. The atmosphere there for home games is arguably the best in the world, with the fans earning the title of the Cameron Crazies. Plus I’d get to meet the next generation of NBA players; I could even teach them to throw the ‘oop just like me :)

PPI-NI is looking forward to having Coach Jonny on board for another year! And a big thank you for all your work thus far!

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