STILL BALLIN': A European youth basketball network using sport as a metaphor of life

STILL BALLIN' is a European Network of sport professionals who will bring a European dimension to local young basketball.It is made of 5 partners with complementary experience:1 non-governmental organization working with undeserved young basketball athletes, 2 local sport clubs, 1 sport league representing minority teams from a cross-border area and 1 regional basketball federation.The short-terms objectives of the network are to: a)give transversal skills to sport educators and young athletes, preparing them for adult life;b)upgrade local basketball to a European dimension;c)give young athletes a perspective on dual careers,helping them in professional achievement besides athletic careers.It will pursue them by:a)analyzing the needs of a European basketball network;b)setting up the network by involving partners and their collaborators in the following mentoring activities;c)developing a methodology and format for basketball mentoring;d)running several local and 3 international mentoring activities,hosting 6 kids under the age of 18 per partner and sport operators;e)disseminating and exploiting project results;f)assessing performance against objective indicators. 90% of those kids will turn professional, but not in basketball: our mentoring uses sport as a metaphor of life.It will feature international exposure, excellent sport training from world renowned coaches, games and workshops to learn transversal skills (e.g. leadership, project management, psychological strength), insights into the different professions available in sport and European mini tournaments.Target groups are young athletes and their families, local sport organizations, private sponsors, schools and public bodies involved in sport education.The network addresses them in its implementation and exploitation, and it plans to expand in other countries and sports after the project through sponsorships and public funding, thus consolidating this holistic approach to sport education at European level.