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of Educational and Cultural Affairs Afghan Youth Score Points in Basketball Program
The Afghan Sports Visitors Program, a Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ SportsUnited Program, brought seven Afghan girls ages 14-19, four female coaches, and one male coach to the U.S. for a two-week program. The program introduced the delegation to sports in America through basketball. They observed every level of the sport, from junior varsity high school to the NBA, and learned about American life in Washington D.C., Delaware, and Philadelphia. In a partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), former WNBA player and international basketball star Kym Hampton and 7’7” former-NBA star Gheorghe Muresan taught a basketball clinic for the delegation. The group was so impressed by Mr. Muresan’s height that an audible gasp was heard when he walked into the room. Ms. Hampton and Mr. Muresan taught the group fundamentals and drills that they could take back to their teams in Afghanistan. The league later hosted the young Afghans at a Washington Wizards basketball game.
In an effort to illustrate the importance of including all kinds of athletes, the group was able to attend a practice and participate in wheelchair basketball games. Extra wheelchairs were brought and the participants were all given a chance to shoot around, observe adult and youth co-ed teams, and then scrimmage against the youth team. The highlight of the evening was an intra-squad scrimmage of the Afghan girls and coaches. One participant said, “I thought it would be easy, but it took a lot of hard work. We have an Olympic wheelchair basketball team, but nothing for average people.” One of the highlights of the trip was meeting teenage American girls who also play basketball. The delegation toured suburban River Hill High School and visited a history classroom in which they talked about their experiences in Afghanistan. Later, the group mixed with the junior varsity team and had a friendly but competitive scrimmage. They learned basic skills from the coach and players of Sacred Heart in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. The group also visited Theodore Roosevelt High School, a perennial contender for the women’s District of Columbia City Title. There they toured classrooms, participated in drills, and played a mixed scrimmaged with varsity team members.
Throughout the program the group learned not just how to dribble and shoot, but also about Title IX, sports health issues, and he importance of playing as a team and being leaders in their communities. They learned first hand about what it means to be a woman playing basketball in the U.S. “There’s a perception that a powerful, rich country like the U.S. wouldn’t be interested in having a friendly dialogue with a less developed country like Afghanistan. It wasn’t like that at all….When we got here, we saw people come together through culture and sports. It’s that connection of people that is so important.” - Mohammad Shafiq Eqrar, coach
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