The Education Through Athletics program for In Time of Need, Inc. (www.intimeofneed.org) provides youth with the opportunity to compete in sports at the national level with the main purpose of earning a college scholarship. Why do we stand out among other youth athletics and recreation programs? We are not concerned with our youth going to the NBA or the WNBA (although many of them have the skill to do so); we are providing our youth with the opportunity to use their athletic abilities to earn a free college education. The overwhelming majority of the youth that participate Education Through Athletics share several characteristics. They are:
1) Athletically gifted
2) Eager to pursue a college education
3) Low-income and/or at-risk of not being able to attend college due to other socio-economic conditions
Our girl basketball team, Hoop Dreams Elite, competes in many exposure events throughout the season. We are a program that has been successful for the past 14 years, and recently had 40 young ladies playing college basketball in 2009. Our basketball program began back in the state of North Carolina, and we have now relocated to the beautiful area of Atlanta, Ga. We compete in both the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and Youth Basketball of America (YBOA) associations, BUT WE ARE NOT AN AAU TEAM. Our focus is to gain exposure for our athletes to colleges/universities throughout the country. We will compete in the state games to ensure that the youth are competing and growing in their skills and development.
These associations, in addition to several elite basketball tournaments throughout the country provide our youth with national exposure, which enables them to be seen by college coaches throughout the United States. Our teams travel all over the country to compete against some of the nation's top athletes. There is a team fee of $600 which covers tournament fees and some expenses (payment plans are available). The coaches, players, parents and the organization work together to raise extra funds in an effort to pay for the other expenses for the youth that would not otherwise be able to afford this opportunity. These expenses include uniforms, shoes, athlete registration, tournament fees, hotel stay, food, transportation.
Hoop Dreams Elite ensures that our youth and their parents are prepared for the college recruitment process and the transition to college, both on and off the court. As our former Hoop Dreams Elite players participate in collegiate sports programs throughout the country, we have a great deal of experience in this area, and make sure the parents stay well-informed as to how these processes work. We ensure that our youth understand the value of a college education, and that being a student-athlete takes a lot of effort and hard work. With this in mind, we assist our youth in SAT/ACT test preparation, tutoring, financial aid application filing, NCAA eligibility and compliance, etc. Throughout our interactions, we emphasize the importance of discipline, good sportsmanship, respect, and teamwork. Hoop Dreams Elite is well respected in the elite basketball circuit by other teams, other coaches, and college scouts as always having outstanding student-athletes that truly appreciate the opportunity placed before them.
The Hoop Dreams Elite Difference
Although there are many basketball teams, we guarantee that we are not like any other program. We are very detailed in our pursuit of excellence for the girls in our program. We have a true concern about the player development of each athlete in our program. We are winners, but this is because we work so hard to develop each athletes skills. It is NOT JUST ABOUT WINNING, although we have a great winning tradition. We have top quality athletes because of our tradiotion, knowledge of the game, player development, and work ethic. Hoop Dreams Elite offers exposure both on and off of the court. We create a website each year for our Hoop Dreams Elite teams by age group, which has a personal bio on every player on the team. This is a unique and innovative way to ensure that your child gains exposure by college coaches throughout the country. Most importantly at our first practice we evaluate each participant on the team. We look at their basketball skill/ability and see where they need improvement. We go from A to Z and within three days after the first practice the parent is handed a player evaluation of His/her child. This player evaluation is done so that the parent can actually see the progress that is made through the course of the summer. Once we see the weaknesses we work on those so that we can build the complete Student-athlete. We see each girl on the team as an individual that is a part of a group. Although we focus on this group of athletes, we place a strong focus on the growth of the INDIVIDUAL. This is a major key to ensure success!
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