"Changemakers to the court." Zambian youth basketball coaches delegation completes inbound stage of TBE exchange program

As part of The Basketball Embassy’s ongoing mission to build community through the unifying power of sport, the San Antonio-based nonprofit last week completed the inbound portion of a two-way exchange program centered on youth basketball in Zambia.

The first leg of the program took place in San Antonio, Texas, where TBE - in partnership with World Learning and the U.S. Department of State Sports Diplomacy Division - welcomed 10 youth basketball coaches from Zambia for an extended schedule of professional development, leadership and action-planning workshops, as well as basketball-centric and cultural exchange activities. 

TBE has facilitated an array of similar exchange programs over the years and each group has showcased its own distinct personality and skill set. Chris Dial, TBE president and Texas A&M-San Antonio men’s basketball coach, said this particular group built an immediate bond with each other despite little prior interaction back home.

“The unique thing about them is that they came over and developed an incredible cohesion,” Dial said. “A lot of the groups that come stick to their original path and processes and they use the exchange programs to platform their own individual dreams and aspirations. This group did that, but one-upped that and essentially came together to form a collective consciousness about how they can impact at a macro-level basketball, education, leadership, and a lot of those intangible things back in Zambia. This group is gonna specifically and deliberately stick together to try and attack certain things at a system level. I was just really happy and super impressed with their mind set regarding that approach.”

This delegation - comprising five male and five female Zambian youth basketball coaches - met with several of San Antonio's most prolific ambassadors of the game, youth empowerment and leadership for meaningful workshops and training sessions, including Dr. Brandon Crooms, Dr. Angela Breidenstein and Dr. Jacob Tingle of Trinity University; Dr. Clifton Ellis of Temple College; Dr. Randall Griffiths of the University of the Incarnate Word, Darnell Smith, director of athletics at Texas A&M University-San Antonio, Mandy Tyler, nutritionist; coaches Alexandria Harden and Burshaud Williams; Yolanda Rodgers, director for community sports; and senior director Phillip Cullen.

Our Lady of the Lake University assistant athletic director for compliance Haley Holzem led a session highlighting the significance of Title IX and the disparities between women's and men's sports and Dr. Blakely Low-Scott conducted a session on mindfulness and provided best practices. Additionally, the group spent time at Morgan's Wonderland, delving into adaptive sports with Brooke Matula and Audrey Sutterfield, and also received a tour of Haven for Hope, gaining insights into its unique facilities from senior manager of youth and family enrichment, Ashley Miller.

“The individuals making up the Zambian delegation are changemakers to the court,” Dial said. “They’re super passionate about not just coaching but using the game to really positively impact community, and especially kids. They’ve all got their own story about how basketball has shaped and saved them in some instances. They want to make sure the game is accessible to kids in Zambia so they can do the same for others.”

The program will continue into mid-April when TBE travels with an American delegation of emerging leaders to travel to various locations in Zambia. The group will meet with the coaches in their home communities and take initial steps to implement their action plans, all while soaking in their unique culture and processes.

“As we gear up to head over there, one of the things that we’re gonna make sure we do is try to continue to push, enable and empower this sort of collective unification with this really cool group of people,” Dial said. “We want to make sure they’re in a position to create some perpetual momentum. This is only the beginning of an ongoing relationship in which we will continue to share ideas with each other in hopes of building community and increasing accessibility around the world to the game we love.”

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