As the NBA approaches All Star Weekend, marking the halfway point of their season, we too, here in Belfast, have reached Mid Term Break. Half of our schools off this week, half off the following week. Colin and I are using this time to work the players individually, assess their development and progress as well as our own.

In this current economic climate, one can not help but get caught up in the numbers. Non profits and charities are not immune to this either. Many tend to get caught up in the numbers – how much money the organization has raised, how many kids have we reached – and wind up missing the bigger picture. Full Court Peace has always stressed quality over quantity. We believe in making a true difference in the lives of those players we coach. Last week, Colin, myself, and everyone involved with Full Court Peace were treated to a real world example of just how far we have come. The following is that story:

As is our Tuesday ritual, Colin and I left our apartment and made our way towards the Belfast City Hospital, where we catch the 9A bus to Dunmurry High to accompany the boys over to St. Colm’s for practice. As we had been all day, Colin and I continued texting our players and phoning the main office, trying to arrange for an available teacher to drive the van over to St. Colm’s. I then received a call from the PE teacher, who has been helping us with the arrangements throughout the year, informing me that the situation didn’t look promising this week as all of the teachers were busy with meetings before the mid term break. Colin made the obligatory apologetic phone call to the players informing them that the day’s session would have to be cancelled and we would see them Thursday for practice. Disheartened that we wouldn’t be able to bring the boys together for practice, we were still determined to have a good session with the guys at St. Colm’s. A brisk walk turned into a hearty jog as we fought through the wind tunnel that is Dublin Road on our way to the City Centre. A jog turned into a full sprint on Queen Street as we were able to catch the 10D bus that would take us to St. Colm’s. As we made our way up the Falls Road, Colin received a call from one of the players at Dunmurry informing us that they had taken action into their own hands, acquired transportation, and would be meeting us at St. Colm’s shortly.

Depending on which of the boys you ask, you will receive a different tale of bravado that involved storming offices, making demands, and causing an all out raucous till transport was acquired. Either way, they had managed to pull Mrs. Corken, the school’s principal, away from her extremely busy schedule and agree to drive the bus over. We had one of the best practices of the year, giving us momentum to carry us through the mid term break.

Now is as good a time as any to once again thank those coaches, teachers, principals, parents, and all our other supporters who have helped us come this far. Most importantly, thank you to our players. Colin and I hope you are learning as much from us as we are from you.

-T.J.

Hey guys, this is Colin here checking in again from Belfast.

Our progress and momentum since the Christmas break has been really significant. We’ve had both our teams, the Belfast Blazers (the synthesis of Orangefield High School and St. Joseph’s College) and the Belfast Bulldogs (the synthesis of Dunmurry High School and St. Colm’s college) training twice a week, and the relationships between the kids has definitely started to gain some traction. Both teams have moved passed the awkward stage of feeling each other out. They feel comfortable enough to compete hard against one another because of the respect they have gained for their teammates. Additionally, beyond the basketball court, they are fostering the bonds of friendship and no longer walking on egg-shells, throwing jokes out and genuinely enjoying the company of kids they probably never would have seen in a natural social context.

The basketball has picked up as well, with their movement around the court displaying more coherence to the guiding blueprints of the game. They are beginning to incorporate picks (a completely foreign concept to them because a similar action in soccer is a penalty: obstruction), give-and-go’s, backdoor cuts, and other aspects of basketball which I often take foregranted as instinct. The big guys are boxing out, chasing rebounds, and now, after my incessant reminders, no longer trying to dribble the ball up the court. The guards are (for the most part) keeping their heads up as they handle the ball, guiding their teammates into some semblance of a balanced court and finding the open man. I think they should be ready for some games in a couple of weeks.

The Blazers have decided to keep their uniforms colored black and white, while the Bulldogs have chosen a red-black color scheme.

I’ll be posting again soon.

- Colin