Using Sport To Make A Difference

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Coach For College (CFC) is a program that is sponsored by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) that travels to Vietnam to promote higher education to under privileged youth. In addition to education, CFC promotes active life styles through sports and enhances their lives by teaching life skills. I will work the camp with six other American college athletes and eight Vietnamese college students.  Between all of us we will teach the kids, eighth and ninth graders:

• English
• Math
• Physics
• Health

We will also coach them in sports. Many of these kids have never played sports because sports are not common in the rural parts of Vietnam. Most of the kids go to school and work in the fields with their families. We will coach them on basic skills and the rules of the games so that they will be able to play them with each other when the camp is over. The sports we will teach are:

• Basketball
• Tennis
• Soccer
• Volleyball

Lastly, we will help the kids learn important life skills that will help them get through school, sports and life in general. We want to encourage the kids to see the importance of embracing their role in shaping their own lives. Some of the skills we will teach them are:

• Goal setting
• Positive self views
• Helping others to help yourself

When I am done playing professional basketball I plan to go back to graduate school where I will obtain my masters in Life Skills Coaching. I want to work with college athletes on the importance of their college education and the difference that they can make in others’ lives just because of their athletic status. My goals during this three-week trip are to:

• Spread all the happiness and joy I have to the kids
• Learn some Vietnamese words/phrases
• Experience the cultural differences and similarities
• Gain confidence in my abilities to encourage others to make their lives better by embracing the life skills activities

The camp lasts for three weeks and consists of two sessions everyday. In the morning the eighth graders attend camp and in the afternoon the ninth graders attend. The children walk, ride their bikes or find some other type transportation to get to camp.  The basic schedule of events is as follows:

• Monday-Thursday   
  • Teach academic lessons, sports practices and life skills lessons
  • Friday
    • Academic and life skills tests and sports competitions
    • Weekends
      • Coaches travel around Vietnam

I look forward to taking all of my readers on an adventure of a lifetime. I am blessed that basketball is allowing me to travel to Vietnam and help these young kids try to progress in their own lives. I want to make a difference.

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