(Toronto, On) On August 19, 2017, On Point attended the third annual Hoops & Heels event at the Ellesemere Community Centre in the east end of Toronto. Hoops&Heels is an event focused on educating the mothers and support systems of young basketball players on how to better the experience of the player, both on and off the court. Inspired by the Virginia Tech women’s event for the mothers of student athletes, event Founder and organizer Sophia Brown updated the format to make it relevant to the Canadian experience.
Brown and her team ensured that all aspects of basketball life were touched on with presentations covering: community centre importance, nutritional information and first hand experiences of players, coaches and mothers.
Brown is encouraged by the growth potential of the event while discussing the benefits of the program, “Parents were informed of the important steps required to get their student athlete to the next level; from proper nutrition and rest, knowing the academic requirements, being aware of all your options and understanding there is a process involved. Hoops&Heels ensured panel members were specific to all required areas..parents were provided with information/tools to support the process.”
The event also featured a first hand run through of drills, where mothers and support systems were encouraged to participate in a run through of drills on the basketball court. Along with all of this, mothers and support systems were educated on their roles and expectations in the basketball community and the roles that they can expect to play through the process of prep schools, college and NBA recruitment.
The event was very well organized and very informative. On Point congratulates Sophia and her team on a job well done and we look forward to attending next years event!
For more information on Hoops and Heels contact Sophia Brown at hoopsandheelsedu@gmail.com or visit their Instagram account @hooopsandheels
Written by Tenneya Martin
Photos by Tenneya Martin
Edited by Drew Ebanks
