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WORLD GAMESNEAKER SPOT
teachings grabbed the attention of Shoot- ing Touch board member and Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley.
"I'm really very proud to be a part of the Sabbatical Program," says Hurley. "To see the drills that I coach my players at St. Antho- ny's with being perfectly executed by kids in rural African villages with ratty balls and no shoes on cement courts really proves that this sport relates to and positively affects all. Shooting Touch has created a special pro- gram that is undoubtedly changing lives."
UBUNTU. THE TERM made its way into popular culture when the Boston Celtics constantly referred to it during their 2008 championship season. It's a South African expression that Westbrooks learned during her time there. But it took some time for her to see what it truly meant.
ate is chosen and given a grant to travel the world for 10 months and make a difference in the lives of others through basketball. Westbrooks and last year's grant recipient, Tome Barros, have both provided Shooting Touch with the kind of person capable and motivated in their journey toward influenc- ing young people's lives. But it doesn't end there, says Kittredge.
"They're changing not only their own lives, but they're changing so many of the lives of the people that they interact with on a global level," he says. "And we just think that this organization can truly change the perception of basketball throughout the world, but at the same time this can have a domino effect of making this game more positive and knowing that this game can have a positive impact on and off the court."
ESPN commentator and Shooting Touch board member Fran Fraschilla echoed the words of Kittredge. And the type of person he described fits both Barros and Westbrooks.
"The Shooting Touch Sabbatical Program is an incredible opportunity for a young per- son with great character, focus and drive to use their passion for the game of basketball to impact and touch lives in a global way," says Fraschilla.
For Westbrooks, she's leaving footprints of Shooting Touch with Hoops 4 Hope in Cape Town, Basketball Without Borders in Johannesburg and The Matilda Project in Zimbabwe. The Matilda Project isn't even a sporting organization. It brings aid, medica-
tion and food to schoolchildren who aren't usually lucky enough to receive necessities like those.
Westbrooks may eventually start a bas- ketball program there. But for now, it's important to her that she give these kids enjoyment and life lessons during times when death and despair are daily problems they encounter.
"The idea of just bringing a bit of extra hope and a bit of extra enjoyment to these chil- dren's lives (is my goal)," she says.
With nearly a third of kids in rural Zimba- bwe orphaned at a young age, the country has the highest number of children-headed families in the world. Basketball gives the kids a tool and an outlet; the game gives them a break from their trying lives.
"The one thing I've seen through the sport through the years is the team aspect," says Westbrooks. "It brings people together and unifies people. It breaks racial barriers, so- cial barriers and religious barriers. It causes people to have to come out of their comfort zone, have to be responsible and rely on others. There's just so many aspects of the sport that develop a person, obviously on the court, but more so off the court."
Barros, like Westbrooks, was able to see firsthand the development of the kids as the program's first sabbatical recipient in 2010. From July 2010 to April 2011, he traveled to Senegal, Brazil and Cape Verde, taking part in multiple basketball camps. And his
The term commonly means togetherness and community. And Westbrooks was able to see it personify South Africans. In South Africa, she worked with someone who brought her to his home. The worker invited five volunteers to his "house." It was a shack. But it didn't matter. His grandma was there. So were his mother, kids and a neighbor. The family sat, eating and drinking.
"Everyone's just sitting in this one room but conversing away, chatting about life, making sure everyone's welcome," says Westbrooks. "It was in that moment that I was like, 'Oh, this is Ubuntu.'"
Still overseas, Westbrooks is grateful for the chance to change lives, both her own and the lives of those across Africa. She's taking part in a program that Shooting Touch board member Jason Terry calls "one of the coolest, most innovative programs I have ever been a part of."
"We are changing thousands of lives each year by using the power of basketball," he says.
Basketball may be the underlying tool of change, but the lives of kids from South Af- rica to Zimbabwe have also been changed in more than just sports. And Westbrooks tells herself that every day.
"Look where you are, look what you're doing, look who you're meeting, look at the lives you're impacting, look at the way you're being changed," says Westbrooks. "I just remind myself of that. It's one of those op- portunities of a lifetime."
For more information on the Shooting Touch Sabbatical Program, visit www.shootingtouch.com.
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