| girls. “I would like to be an inspiration to young girls,” Lewis said. “I would like to be able to reach at least a few, if not each and every girl that comes to our program. I think that this is a positive thing and as long as we keep our goals in perspective and we stick to our mission, which is to help girls lead healthy lifestyles and to become more active, I think that we’ll succeed. My biggest thing is to help young girls as much as possible, in any way. I don’t even look at it so much as, we’re teaching them basketball; I look at it as, we’re teaching them how to live life.” Lewis emphasized that playing basketball and the fun aspect of it come naturally, and that there are values that she actually got from playing ball. “When I really start to play with a club or an organized team, I learn even better qualities such as determination, to work hard, to stick to something, to be dedicated, to set goals, to work with people, be able to work with a team, to learn how to compromise and to sacrifice at times. So those are more important things that you get from playing a game.” Harrison is also making connections with other well-known local teams such as the UW- Women’s Basketball Team and Edgewood College Team. “We’re going to a practice of theirs so that the girls can see these college women do some of the same drills that they’re doing, because I think they’re really good role models,” Harrison said. “And we’re hoping that they’ll come to us out on the East side to run a skills clinic for us for free! Our girls can look forward to being like them.” Both Harrison and Lewis would like to see more girls from diverse communities participating, especially Asian Americans, such as the Hmong. “I’ve lived by Kennedy Heights. Honestly, there are a lot of Hmong kids there, but I don’t see any of them in athletics,” Harrison said. “We’d like to get more of them involved. But it takes the parent to get them here, and sometimes that could be the barrier. Once we get the girls in the gym, they do better in school, they make new friendships, they stay out of trouble, they’re not just hanging out on the streets. I think we have great cultures. Our focus is on skill development. We’re not about winning because winning will come naturally. Once you develop your skills and jell as a team, the winning will come.” The Madison Stars Basketball Club can be reached at (608) 692-0218; madisonstars@hotmail.com. Visit their website: www.madisonstarsbasketball.com. Donations may be sent to Madison Stars Basketball Club, PO Box 14582, Madison, WI 53708-0582. |
Ball games
Madison Stars Basketball Club:
Helping girls learn teamwork and active lifestyle
Helping girls learn teamwork and active lifestyle
By Heidi M. Pascual On a Wednesday afternoon, the new basketball gym at East Madison Community Center was abuzz with girls’ excited voices. These diverse girls were learning how to handle a basketball, dribble, shoot, and work as a team. The basketball “students” are as young as three years old and as “old” as 8th graders. The younger ones are usually accompanied by their equally excited parents. The kids are members of Madison Stars Basketball Club, founded by Lynelle Harrison, a mother of two girls. Harrison grew up in a family engaged in sports, so her passion for it came naturally. “I have three older brothers and sisters who were into athletics, so I kind of followed in their footsteps,” Harrison said in an interview with Asian Wisconzine. “My dad was an avid tennis player, so we all had to play tennis. We also did track and field.” Growing up in Green Bay, Harrison was a member of her 4th grade basketball team. She later moved to Madison for college, worked in the accounting field, had a family, and volunteered on the city’s north side community as a basketball coach for 12 years. Recently, Harrison decided to start her own basketball club for girls. “The Madison Stars Basketball Club’s mission is to promote sportsmanship and teach the girls how to lead a healthy and active lifestyle,” Harrison explained. “Because a lot of kids nowadays sit in front of the TV and don’t do a whole lot, we want to get the girls in the gym, be active, be part of a team, and make new friendships. And we get to travel, too. For some of them, it’s their first time outside of Madison, or on the west side of Madison.” Although started by Harrison herself, the Madison Stars Basketball Club became a reality only after some parents were convinced of its mission and decided to let their children participate fully in the skills clinic. The younger kids are always accompanied by parents or family members who “wait on the sides” while the kids work with their mentors. Many of the parents personally know Harrison because she coached their children in the past. Through word of mouth, more parents are coming every Wednesday with their children. One mother said: “I know Lynelle from various sporting groups before and my daughter played with her daughter at YMCA. When she told me about her program and she wanted my daughter to come, I agreed. I know that my daughter will learn a lot from this program.” Harrison also approached Ellen Lewis, administrative assistant at EMCC and a former “basketball student” of hers when Lewis was in 7th grade, to help her organize the club. “We both have a passion for this, and we just got things rolling,” Harrison said. “We invite girls to come to the gym and try it out.” Nowadays, the club has about 30 kids attending the free skills clinics every week. Ellen has become the club’s vice-president and coach to the older kids. While the skills clinic is free for the summer, the club will need some financial help in the fall when they develop teams by grade level, and prepare them for competitions. “The younger ones, the kindergarten to third grade team, will go to the YMCA League, while the 4th-8th grade team will participate in a Tri-County League that’s run by MATC.” She added that all teams will need uniforms and travel fund so the club will have to charge some fees. The younger teams will practice at least once a week while the middle schoolers will practice twice a week. Administrative expenses will be taken care of through fund-raising and donations from families and friends. The club just had a Summer Cookout fund-raiser at Warner Park on Aug. 3. Ellen Lewis used to play basketball at East High School, and she said her first coaches in Madison when she was younger were the Harrison couple. Just like Harrison, Lewis is passionate about basketball and mentoring young |
Lynelle Harrison (r) and Ellen Lewis
