At the conclusion of the Wolfpack Elite Girls’ Skills Clinic for Basketball and Netball players, Coach Iesha Gray, Head Coach from NAIA Division 2, Wilberforce University in Ohio announced that six of the Girls have become official recruits of the University.
Asante Chapman, Amali Smith, Demiqua Daniels, SiYaunne Hall, Inshanae Smith, and Sakari Famous will all be given athletic scholarship packages from the University contingent upon their continued player development with the Lady Cats Elite programme and successful academic acceptance to the University.
For Chapman who has been enrolled in a post graduate programme in the UK for the past year, and Amali Smith, an S4 student at The Berkeley Institute, the decision to matriculate to Wilberforce in the fall of 2016 and accept a scholarship package will need to be an immediate one for the pair of standout athletes.
Roughly thirty young ladies in all attended the clinics which included a player showcase and two days of skills and development training.
Erica Woods, Director of the Lady Cats Elite programme was in attendance for the three day event and stressed the importance of moving with a purpose during the skills clinic.
From the opening day and throughout the event, Coach Gray shared an important message with the young ladies, “You cannot be afraid to fail”, said Coach Gray. “Fear and love cannot exist in the same space. You cannot say that you love something and then be afraid to try your best because you’re afraid to fail or because it’s too difficult.”
Coach Gray spoke about goal setting and not allowing interruptions or distractions to take you away from your goals. According to Gray, in addition to the girls who were named official recruits, several girls in younger age groups, also have the potential to become recruits in the future.
This news marks a historic first according to Charles Peters, Director of Wolfpack Hoops. “This was the first ever recruiting Showcase of Girls Basketball players in front of a college coach held in Bermuda. In the past thirty years we have had three or maybe four ladies earn basketball scholarships by leaving Bermuda to pursue their dreams in the United States at a young age. To have six of our Lady Cats Elite players offered scholarships right here at home is an outcome much greater than we anticipated. We know that without this opportunity, some of these ladies would be unable to afford college. So, I really hope that the ripple effect of this event will impact the lives of these girls, their families, and the communities around them in positive ways for years to come. With this outcome, we also hope to strengthen our partnership with Netball as the sport is a tremendous training ground for important skills that are transferable to basketball. I think this outcome is the start of something very special for Netball and Basketball players.”
“Wolfpack would like to thank coaches from the Bermuda Netball Association, Kimale Evans and Gina Benjamin, and basketball Coach Tim Trott for working with us on this event. We would also like to thank the girls and their parents who worked really hard and have once again proven that our greatest asset is our hospitality and character which welcomed Coach Gray with open arms.”
Wolfpack Elite is a basketball Player Development programme that focuses on advanced individual player and skill development for boys and girls of all ages. If you would like to learn more about the programme please contact Coach Peters at charles@wolfpackhoops.com.
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