Players Exchange 2008

The GAM3 Players exchange is a cultural and basketball program that will bring 12 Lebanese players and 2 coaches to Denmark in 2008 and 12 Danish players to Lebanon in 2009. It is designed to promote understanding accross cultures through the language of basketball.

The players will leave Beirut on August 4th and return on August 11th. Players will stay in group with the families of Danish GAM3 members, and will engage in basketball and other cultural activities. The trip culminates with players competing in GAM3 Finals, Scandanavia's largest street basketball tournament.

GAM3 Street Leauge: Summer 2008

Summary

GAM3 Street League is based on volunteer players with the drive to become a coach and lead their own team. These volunteer players, called “”, will create teams and hold weekly practices in their own neighbourhoods, then congregate monthly for tournaments in different locations around Beirut. This expands the reach of GAM3’s sport-for-all street culture philosophy into the courts and neighbourhoods where the most enthusiasm lies, in addition GAM3 Street League promotes the spirit of community service and leadership among volunteers.

At the beginning of the summer, xxs will be trained in street basketball coaching and team organization by experienced GAM3 coaches. Then, following their training each volunteer will receive a bag of basketball equipment. Throughout the summer teams will receive logistical support in setting up practice locations (a maximum of ½ of the cost for court rental will be paid by GAM3), games and forming more highly organized clubs.

In return, xxs are expected to lead at least three hours of practice per week, attend GAM3 Street League tournaments, and report their activities to GAM3 HQ. The tournaments, called “GAM3 Street League Battles”, are the pinnacle of the Summer’s activities which bring together xxs from around the city to test their team against a diverse array of street ballers from around the city.

A maximum of 20 xxs, each representing between 4 and 15 players, will be supported by GAM3.

Objective

The overall aim is to breakdown cultural and psychological barriers that separate Lebanese living in and around Beirut, and to encourage street-level leadership through basketball.

Good times at Hoops!!

"The trampoline,” Hana, 5, tells Fadi in Arabic after he translated my question of what was her favorite part of her day at Hoops. After the first day, the coaches and organizers at Hoops changed things around a little more in line with what Mac originally envisioned.

Each of the three courts was divided in half. One focused on football, one on basketball and one was designed for the younger kids. It had a trampoline and an inflatable castle-looking structure with a slide on one wall.

The other two younger kids Fadi and I talked to said the same thing, pointing over in its direction from the football court where we were standing.

Ahmed, who works at Hoops and organized the stations on each court, told me the idea with the sport courts was to build skills. The basketball court looked like an obstacle course. There were about 10 poles set up with kids slaloming between them dribbling basketballs along one side and an equal number of pairs of small orange cones connected with poles that created a mini hurtle course for kids hopping like rabbits holding basketballs tight to their chests.

The crew at Hoops also used orange cones to help kids learn how to shoot the perfect lay-up. To the right of the hoop about a meter or so before it four cones were laid flat on the court in two lines. Run and dribble up to the cones, grab the ball and step over the first line with the right foot, left foot over the second line and shoot. “Right, left, shoot,” one of the coaches kept yelling as kids either put both feet between the cones, stopped to long to assess how to proceed or sidestepped the obstacle all together.

Over the course of the five days with stations set up, Ahmed told me they also played half-court competitive games, 5-on-5, small teams with the first to 10 winning, passing drills, shooting drills and dribbling blindfolded.
One of the boys there to play, Ahmed, 12, told me (through Fadi) his only complaint was he didn’t get to play basketball enough. The kids rotated between the basketball, football and play-time courts (the bigger kids, however, stuck to the sports).

The football court was similar to the basketball court, zig-zagging around obstacles or practicing passing, penalty kicks or headers. At one point, the littler kids were playing a game with the cones used as obstacles for ball-control drills. The cones were mid-field and the kids were to line up on the goal line. (Most of them huddled together inside the goal.)

When the coach blew his whistle, they had to run and grab a cone. There was one less cone than children, so someone was out each round. Mac and I stood and watched, surprised to see it was force over speed in the end. The faster, smaller girl made it mid-field first but dove for the cone, missing it. She was able to grab for it just as the slower girl probably 2 years her senior did. With less muscle, the faster girl’s tentative grip didn’t stand a chance as the other girl just pulled it away from her.

Overall, Mac said he was happy with the way things turned out. They brought around 150 different kids to Hoops during the five days of open court GAM3 arranged. All told, 487 kids attended (most more than once) and the folks at Hoops let them exceed the 75 participant goal that was the original plan, which they did every day except the last. On 7 July, the second day, there were 96 kids. The last day at Hoops, the kids who came were full-time residents of the two Palestinian refugee camps just south of Beirut. (Each other time, most of the kids were refugees from the fighting in the Nahr al-Bared camp in North Lebanon.)

Playing a new GAM3

Sunday, July 1 -- I arrived at Hoops (where I’d never been before) a few minutes before the first practice was scheduled to start and knew I was in the right place from the river of children I saw flowing from the corner of the block along the narrow sidewalk in through the front gate.
GAM3 in Beirut had funding until the end of July, and the Qas Qas practices had only one week left, so Mac saw an opportunity to brighten some kids’ lives, and he took it.

The 75 kids I saw streaming into the Hoops court complex were Palestinians temporarily living just south of Beirut’s city limits in two refugee camps after fleeing fighting between the Lebanese Army and a group of armed militants at their camp in the North.
Mac’s friend, Ahmed, lives in the Burj al-Barajneh camp and told him most of the refugees from Nahr al-Bared were staying there.

He knew Hoops was close by, so he set to work on organizing hour-and-a-half open-court sessions over six days throughout the month for two groups of 75 kids.

The kids aren’t here only to learn basketball. Hoops has three courts under enormous tents attached to a smaller building with offices, bathrooms, storage space and a concession stand.

The court-area is like a building with chain-linked walls.

Today’s group of 75 was broken into three smaller groups and loosed on the floors. The two outside courts were football pitches and the middle court was for basketball. Football matches started and the kids playing basketball practiced dribbling and took turns shooting.

They weren’t really taking up the entire court, so I decided to take pictures of the basketball first. I got about 3 shots of some little girls dribbling, and my photography days were over. After each click, the kids would run over to see themselves on the screen of my camera. They were almost running over to see the picture before it’d even be taken.

The crowd of posers gathered and the scrum of little hands wanting to catch a glimpse of the picture grew wider. Pretty soon the camera was out of my hands and the kids started having a ball.

It was great because they spoke almost no English and I speak almost no Arabic. They’d ask me things. I’d understand one word, then try to imagine what their question was and answer it with the other 8 words I know.

They loved taking pictures and then looking at themselves. It was this hour-long flurry of activity punctuated by repeated 2-second moments of stillness. They traveled in a pack, trying to get ahold of the camera.

I just followed along, occasionally attempting to arbitrate when one little kid thought another had taken too many pictures. I’m pretty sure, “Hey, it’s my turn,” or some variant was what kids kept pleading with me, as if I was in any way controlling the swarm.

They loved it. They’d move over to the sides of the basketball court to catch a shot of one of the football matches and the 1, 2, or 3 kids within the camera’s range would stop in the middle of the game to pose and then run over to see themselves.

The coaches weren’t really thrilled, but none of the kids seemed to mind.

Last Day!

The final GAM3 crew was definitely smaller than when we started, but these kids are dedicated and had one great time. There were 18 girls, 7 older boys and 4 younger boys. The last day moved along like Sundays have for the past few weeks. The older boys have taken to just playing games with whoever else is hanging around the courts. (Two weeks ago coach Rabiah joined them, not letting the heat of the game take him away from coaching, yelling to his guys to put their arms up to defend as he ran down court behind one of the opposing team’s players driving toward the hoop.)
Mac says next year, he’d like to form a team with the older boys.

“The older kids seem to want to compete more and have a focus,” he told me. “I’d like to have try outs and get a team together.” If there’s enough interest, there could be several.
Unfortunately I spent most of the last day’s practice trying to find batteries for my camera. I didn’t get to see much of the action.

When I got back to Qas Qas, my breakfast, a cheese and spice pita called a manouche, was needed. One of the boys fell and cut his head right above his eye. He had an empty stomach and was feeling a little dizzy. Mac was patching him up with a first aid kit, having him hold gauze to the cut.

The girls and younger boys were playing the grab-the-ball-off-the-head game again. It looked like fun.

Talar, hanging out on the sidelines, took the chance to try teaching one of the kid’s younger siblings. I’m terrible at judging these things, but the little guy looked around 5 or so. He’s standing below the net, trying his hardest, but can’t seem to get the ball more than half a meter over his head.

So, Talar came over. She stood in front of him and put her hand out, a little above her own head (so, around 2 meters off the ground). She tells him to aim for her hand. He shoots her a glance, brings the ball down between his knees and heaves it up into the air. High enough, but not exactly accurate. Talar fetches the ball and tells him to shoot it proper. He holds it, eyes her and drop kicks it, this time neither high enough nor anywhere near the right direction.

Meanwhile, some guys Mac hired had been setting up a grill and firing up the coals all morning. I could smell the chicken kebabs cooking while Talar tried to teach little Pelé how to play basketball. My stomach was rumbling, but first we had some awards to present.
Mac took center stage under a tarp Mohammed Fataerji, leader of the Baladna Scouts, loaned GAM3 for the occasion.

Members of the groups that helped GAM3 get started here in Beirut were seated on plastic chairs in the audience. The groups in Beirut who helped Mac get GAM3 off the ground here were really invaluable.

Since I’ve gotten to talking about them, let me just formally recognize them quickly. GAM3 in Beirut wouldn’t have worked as well without the Municipality of Beirut, the Makassed Youth Voluntary Affairs Department, the Baladna Scouts, the Lebanese Physically Handicapped Union, the Tariq Jdideh Women’s Council, the Social Health Department of the Hariri Association, the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Lebanese Basketball Federation.

Seating was limited so most of the kids plopped down on the asphalt.

Mac presented one of two Most Improved Player awards to Somaya Mnaimneh, a 17-year-old girl who’s been to every single practice. She really has gotten noticeably better.
Her biggest challenge after all the work?

“Lay ups,” she tells me. She’s learned a lot working with GAM3, had a great time and will most definitely be back next year.

Nabil, the older guy who tried his hand at coaching a few weeks ago, went home with the other Most Improved Player award.

Talar and Big Mohammed passed “diplomas” out to all the kids who came, a little keepsake to go with their T-shirts.

The older boys cooked up a plan to show Mac their appreciation for all his hard work the past 19 weeks. I was hoping for the big Gatorade splash, but there wasn’t any Gatorade or a big bucket, tub thing of any liquids. They called him over and hoisted him up on their shoulders to show their appreciation for all of his hard work the past 19 weeks.

Rita and Rafi took a few minutes after the festivities to talk with me a bit about their thoughts on their time with GAM3.

Rita really enjoyed coaching and especially liked “working with kids from different cultures and backgrounds and getting them to work together.” She says she was a little afraid the kids wouldn’t really get much better over the course of the program.

“I was shocked at how much they improved,” she tells me.

“We started with 50, and now there’s only about 25, but I know they’ll come back next year,” she says. The dwindling numbers, Rita said, were largely influenced by the precarious security situation in Lebanon, with fighting that started on 20 May continuing between the Army and a group of militants in the North.

“The situation in Lebanon affected our practices,” she says, “Some kids wanted to come but couldn’t. I’m thankful to the ones who did and their parents for trusting us.”

As a weird side-note worth mentioning, the courts hired their own private security team one week before our last practice. They guys didn’t appear to be armed, and the law actually says their guns have to be visible, they just walked the courts keeping an eye on things, I guess.
Rafi told me he thinks next year will be even more successful.

“We trained the kids and took care of them, and their parents can have confidence in us now because they’ve seen what we’ve done with the kids.”

What difference can a basketball make?

The kids surround me. They are pushing each other, looking down to the ground and whispering to each other in Arabic. Finally one of them musters up the courage and asks me ”What is your name?”. They giggle when I reply and then they run out to participate in the weekly GAM3 basketball training here in Nasr City in Cairo [...]

SELA Advisory Group has been following GAM3's activities in The Middle East over the summer. Read what Olga Ege got out of a visit to one of the practices in Cairo this summer in the full article What difference can a basketball make?

Summertime

The summer’s caught hold in Beirut, and the kids have seemingly hit the beach, a favorite weekend pastime for the Lebanese (and pretty much everyone else stuck in sweltering heat next to a body of water). Only two of the older guys showed up, and one of them was an hour late. There were also only three younger boys who came.

Mac, Coach Rabiah, and one older guy played a quick game with some of the other guys at the Qas Qas court. Afterwards, Coach Rabiah sat on a bench on the sidelines, talking and watching his lone player in a game with some guys on the court not with GAM3. He was itching to get to the beach himself, confessing he hoped his wife and kids didn’t leave without him.

Coaches Rita, Rafi and Talar worked with the mix of mainly younger girls, a few of the older ones and the two young boys. About half the time they were playing keep away, and a sort of race. One of the kids would sit mid-court and hold the ball on their head. There were two lines of kids under each basket and one each would run to the middle to try getting the ball first. A hat was the essential accessory for the kid in the middle and two girls took turns passing a pink one between them.

Coach Rafi was a bit put off they weren’t actually working on anything, but the group managed to get some practice in. Coach Rafi worked on chest and bounce passes and a bit on shooting. The kids loved the shooting. They stood in two lines under the net at one end of the court, taking turns dribbling down court and staying at the other end until they made a shot.
The kids waiting hooted, hollered and cheered their peers on, tensing with anticipation as the ball soared through the are and alternatively jumping and clapping at a score or looking on with a bit of disappointment as their turn took that much longer to come. One little boy was so excited after making a shot he forgot to bring the ball back to pass to the kids waiting, spinning on his heels half-court when he realized his mistake.

With two weeks left to go and the days getting hotter and hotter, it’s to be seen how many make it to the end. There have been some kids who’ve come every single week, and they don’t seem likely to stop. Mac’s planning a feast of grilled meat and chicken for the last practice and trying to get some of the Riyadi players to come, so maybe there will be a crowd. However, Coach Rabiah offered the advice Mac was mulling over a few weeks ago, next year it would be better to end the practices before summer kicks in.

First time for everything

This Sunday it was the coaches who didn’t make it. Though, unfortunately, the number of kids was still only around 30. But three of the older guys got their first taste of coaching. Rafi, who normally coaches the boys under 14, had to stay home to study for an exam this week. So Nabil, Abed and Issam, again the only three older guys to show, took over. They were coachless because Big Mohammed was sick and Little Mohammed wasn’t answering his mobile.

The temporary coaches had a great time.

“I like to be ferocious. Torture them,” Abed told me. He’s a bit shy and soft-spoken, so I couldn’t really tell if he was joking. Seeing the boys run the court in the heat, I almost assumed he probably wasn’t. Most of the kids were a little less than fast running laps around the court behind Issam, but they managed to move like lightning over to the water bottles when they got breaks for a gulp.

Stretching was also a bit less than successful with the kids. Nabil and Issam walked from one kid to the next and back again straightening their legs as they reached for their toes. The back and forth and back again played out a second time while the kids laid on their backs and raised their legs in the air. As soon as either Nabil or Issam turned their back after taking a kid by the ankles and giving a gentle tug to get their knees to lock, the kids would bend their legs again.

I headed over to see how the girls were doing. They were also short a coach. Rita, who works with the girls over 14, was also home studying. Talar, the younger girls’ coach, had her hands full with the 16 girls. They played two small, short games and then broke for a little shooting practice.

The girls lined up on either side of the court at the half-court line and drove the ball to the net. They’re getting better, but a lot of the shots didn’t quite make it.

Talar then had them line up for some passing practice. The girls stood in two lines facing each other working on chest passes. Though they were about 2 meters apart, there were still a number of missed passes. But they were having a good time.

The boys, meanwhile, were getting ready for a five-on-five game after a few running and shooting drills. The full-court game got a little chaotic with all the kids running around and a small fight broke out. I didn’t see it, but Issam told me one boy was opening and telling the boy with the ball to pass to him. When the pass didn’t come, the fight broke out. The temporary coaches stepped in to break it up and no one was hurt.

When 10:30 hit, the kids spilt and Nabil, Issam and Abed took the court.

All quiet on the eastern front

The sun was beating down and the expansive complex of football and basketball courts was nearly empty except for those playing. Normally there are people filling the spaces in between courts, kicking stray balls around or practicing their dribbling, waiting for a court to open up or just hanging around. Not the case this Sunday.

Again, GAM3 saw a drop in attendance. For the third week in a row militants battled the Lebanese army in the north, and final exam season was in full swing at the local elementary and secondary schools. The heat, fear of an escalation in violence and testing kept over half the regulars at home this week. Big Mohammed called three of the teenage guys who usually come. Only one answered. Luckily, he came.

Unfortunately, only three of 10 the teenage guys showed up, so Big Mohammed didn’t run any drills. We stood on the sidelines while he let them play a game of three-on-three with some other guys who were at the court. They were drenched in sweat by 10:30, but had a good time.

“It’s really disgusting,” Big Mohammed said of the situation keeping people away. “We started with 50 people who where coming for two months. We were having a really good time here.”

The number of younger boys was also on the low end.

“Some of our boys here are from Burj al Barajneh. Because of the situation in the camp their parents might be afraid to let them leave,” he said. “It’s a really bad situation and their parents might be afraid.”

Like everyone, he hopes things will end quickly and peacefully.

There were enough of the youngest girls to arrange a small, half-court game. They were fun to watch because they could barely toss the ball high enough to get close to the net. It’s funny to see little kids putting all their weight and muscle into something you think of as simple.

The older girls got a few dribbling drills. They’re looking good. The girls had great control, and the drill didn’t turn into the frenzy of stray balls bouncing around they way drills did earlier in the season. They practiced dribbling from behind the net as they ran to the free-throw line and then switched to two bounces with the left hand and a pass for two bounces with the right. But, you can tell they’re not 100% comfortable. Their movements are still a bit stiff and awkward.

When the coaches blew the whistle at the end of the hour and a half, the courts quickly cleared and Qas Qas was even emptier.

Mac talked with Mohammed about sending SMS messages to all the older guys with mobiles. Not just the regulars, everyone on the list, he said.

“Next year, I think we’ll start a little earlier,” he told me, to avoid the final exams and the heat. He said starting earlier in March might help, but it’s the end of winter, a very rainy time in Beirut. The courts, with less than perfectly flat surfaces, are really best when they’re dry.

“The key is to get in between the rain and the heat,” Mac said.

Half the kids, Interview with Abed Al-Rahamam

When I arrived to the Qas Qas courts a little before nine o'clock it was already quite apparent that we were gonna' be missing some GAM3 participants due to the ongoing political situation here in Lebanon. In fact, by mid-practice it looked as if the attendance had been halved. We had taken a hit across the board and were lacking in all age groups, both male and female, not exactly a welcome sight.

None-the-less, we got things going by shooing away the group of football players who occasionally mistake the basketball court for a soccer field and got the drills under way. Since Rabiah hadn't yet arrived, Big Mohammed began by having the older boys dribble along the out-of-bounds line around the perimeter of the full court. Soon afterwards, Mac got the call that Coach Rabiah had been in a car accident. He was unharmed, but wouldn't be making it to the practice. I guess if there were a day to be shorthanded, Sunday was it.

I moved to the girls court and watched as they played a version of the game Keep Away. They stood in a circle lobbing chest passes while a girl in the middle bounced from side to side in an attempt to snag any misplaced ball. There were two girls who hadn't been with us for all that long, no more than two weeks, and though they were a little out of step the more experienced ones were helpful, showing them the correct way to hold their body and hands while lunging into the air or digging low for the bounce pass. That's team work!

Speaking to two young ladies last Sunday, I decided to talk to one of the boys this week and see what he had to say. His name is Abed Al-Rahamam, age 12 and hails from the Shateela Palestinian Refugee Camp. He says his favorite basketball team is Riyadi and that his favorite music is "Rap Music." He's stout young guy who rarely misses a practice, and what he lacks in speed he makes up for in effort and a keen ability to pick things up quickly.

Miguella Guerilla: How do you feel physically since playing basketball with GAM3? Healthier?

Abed Al-Rahamam: I feel normal, not necessarily healthier.

MG: How about you boys, do you generally get along?

Abed Al-Rahamam: We are good. If we fight it's only for the ball.

MG: If you could be anything when you grow up, what would you do?

AA: I'd play in the NBA. My brother went for a tryout, but didn't make it.

MG: I didn't know you could just try out. Good for him. When you're older, let's pretend you got a job that asked that you move from Lebanon, would you do it?

AA: Only if it was for the NBA, but my brother is in Sweden and I would go where ever he tells me to go.

MG: If you had one wish for Lebanon what would you wish for?

AA: For peace.

MG: What if you had one wish, but only could use it for yourself, what would you do?

AA: I'd use it see my brother in Sweden. He's 21.

Abed is in the middle of the frame about to receive a pass.

GAM3_ Back on the ASPHALT

All good on the asphalt, 30 kids for the training. Coaches ready for action.
After a freeze, GAM3 practice is back on track, everyone is ready to play Ball.
Although the numbers are low because of the exams, which will finish at the end of the month, no one can stop the fun.
GAM3's contribution to the Nasr City Youth Centre continues, as we provide two essential items (table tennis tables)!!
As doing good for the community has no boundaries, and the needs are not limited to basketball.

Interview w/ Shereen and Somaya, Mohammed on the up and up!

The violent events of Tripoli on Sunday were a world away as practice got going. Most of the usual drills were being run and though many GAM3 youth are progressing at their own pace, someone in particular stuck out . . . and he’s not a player, but a coach. We’ve been taking note of Coach Mohammed’s (the shorter of the two) ever increasing proficiency when it comes to his dealing with the kids. Whereas he may have seemed slightly distant in the past, he now appears energized and more involved. Where he once might have seemed nervous while dealing with the kids, he now appears to be confident while giving them instruction, but perhaps more than anything, he looks like he’s having fun.

Speaking of “having fun,” I spoke with two of our most regular female participants: Shereen, age 16 from Tarek Al-Jadedeh, and Somaya age 17 from Arad Jalool, and asked them some questions, with my Egyptian friend John acting as translator, about their experiences with GAM3. I wanted to get to know them a little better so before I got to the subject of basketball I asked them who their favorite singers were. They asked if I meant “American or Arab?” I told them it didn’t matter and in a very Lebanese fashion Somaya gave me an Arab name, Saber el-Rabeh, while Shereen told me that it was Masari who she favors listening to, a Canadian R&B singer of half-Armenian descent.

Miguella Guerilla: What has been the reaction of your family and friends since you’ve been coming to practices on Sunday?

Shereen: They’ve been very supportive, no problems from anyone. If I could play basketball whenever, I would.

MG: Do you have a favorite team?

Shereen and Somaya in unison: Riyadi.

MG: . . . and do you have a favorite player on Riyadi?

S & S: Ali Mahmoud.

MG: Why is that?

S & S after a shared giggle that may have disclosed their true feelings on the matter: Because he’s very enthusiastic about the game.

MG: Have you seen any problems between the kids here? if so, what has it been over?

Shereen: No there have been no problems.

MG: Not even in the beginning or first few days of practices amongst the boys?

Somaya: No, there has been nothing. In the beginning we (the girls) didn’t know each other and it was uncomfortable, but now we are all good friends.
MG: In the future, if there were a Professional Lebanese Women’s Basketball team would you want to play?

Somaya: definitely.

Shereen: ofcourse, no problem.

Shereen is in the back row, third from the right.

Somaya is in the front row on the far right with the hijab.

...and Mohammed is in black.

GAM3's DAY OUT

Due to some difficulties with having the space ready for the practices at the Youth Centre as well as exams starting this week...on Friday the 11th, we had a couple of participants on the ground, looking to go home and study for their exams on Saturday!! So we made a quick decision not to wast the day for everyone and took the Orphans for a recreational day at Al Azhar Park. High above Cairo, one of only a couple of green areas in the city with an exceptional view, the kids’ first time to see the city that contains them.

With the help of Bibo and his volunteers we were able to organize a day of joy for the unfortunate. “Food on the hill” as they experience the panoramic view of Cairo for their first time and of course have fun.

GAM3 Featured on NPR news website

NPR recently did a story on GAM3 in Beirut. Shereen Meraji, the producer/reporter for the show Day to Day, was sent to Beirut to focus on stories having do with youth movements in the area. The story was published on the third of May. Here is the link . . . and don't forget to listen to the audio as well, it's quite intriguing.


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9925310

Summer is Here, The "Street Baller's" 1st Scrimmage

Summer has arrived! Sure, the calendar doesn’t exactly say so, but tell that to the kids sweating it out on the courts today in Qas Qas. It’s a good thing we’ve been starting the practices at nine, an hour earlier for the last few weeks, because by the time we called it a day the heat was weighing pretty heavily on us all. Besides one particular group of children that were missing it seemed that we had more than the usual number of participants this week, 21 girls was my count mid-practice.

The drills went seemingly well for all age groups, but the highlight was the scrimmage between GAM3’s very own “Street Baller’s” team, comprised of our oldest boys (some of whom are already much taller than my 5’6” frame), and a team of the same age range hailing from Qas Qas. Our boys started out a bit slowly and committed some shooting fouls, but by the end were hitting their stride, hitting fast break shots and coming up with timely steals. Rabih, one of our coaches, refereed the game . . . and though he called a fair one he was still able to hand out defensive tips to our boys in the middle of the commotion. The game itself was a real scrum, tons of blocked shots and stolen balls, with one of our boys even catching a minor scrape to his left elbow. After the scrimmage the two teams shook hands and posed for a group photo. The “Street Baller’s” certainly seemed to benefit from this kind of competition; hopefully we’ll be able to see more of this Qas Qas basketball team in the future.