admin“He’s learning to play basketball, and his dad is so enthusiastic about it that he bought a slam dunk comic book and read it cover to cover.”
The Assist For Youth project, which Assist is running since 2022 to develop youth basketball in South Korea. The Gimpo Kujunghoe Basketball Classroom, which is working with the project, has a team of second graders. The youngest team, who are still learning the rules of basketball, have dreamers like the energizers at Gimpo Kujunghoe Basketball Class.
The Gimpo Kujunghoe Basketball Class, where people of all ages learn to play basketball, has a cute youngest team this year. A group of dreamers from the second grade of Eunyeoul Elementary School in Gimpo knocked on the door of Gimpo Guzhenghoe Basketball Classroom to learn basketball in earnest.
The mothers, who were worried about the lack of space for their children to play after COVID-19, got together and asked Mr. Koo Jeong-ho to let them use the gymnasium of the Gimpo Koo Jeong-ho Basketball Classroom, and since the beginning of this year, the second graders have officially formed a team and have been learning basketball from Mr. Koo Jeong-ho.
On the 26th of last month, the second graders played a practice game with other team members for the first time in their lives, and although they lost their first basketball game, the unfamiliar experience brought them closer to the sport.
Among them, Kang Ha-joon stood out as the most active player on the team, scoring five points.
“I played basketball with my friends for the first time, and it was fun,” says Kang, who is currently in the second grade at Eunyeoul Elementary School. It was hard because it was my first game, but I played hard and tried to score more points,” he said, adding that he really enjoyed his first basketball game.
Kang’s mother, Hong Hyun-jung, said, “I used to live in the same apartment as Mr. Koo Jeong-ho, so I saw him often. At first, he encouraged his dad to learn basketball, and as the connection grew, my son learned basketball from him,” said Ms. Hong, explaining her connection to Mr. Koo.
“When he told me that he was going to play his first game, I cried for no reason. I was happy to watch the game on the field, but the other team was so good that later on I wanted my children to score a little more,” he laughed, adding, “The children were surprised to see him shouting orders at them at first, but they quickly adjusted. He said that he would like to organize another practice game this month, and I hope that the second game will be more fun,” he said, cheering on the children who played the first game.
Kang Ha-joon, who said it was hard to run around with a basketball that was bigger than him, but he had fun with his friends, said, “Basketball is very fun. I come to learn basketball every Thursday, and I enjoy coming to basketball class with my friends. Before coming to basketball class every time, we gather at a bistro to have a snack and then come to basketball class, which is also fun.” He said that basketball itself is fun, but he also enjoys the time with his friends while coming to basketball class.
His mother, Hong Hyun-jung, who said that her child sometimes wears a basketball uniform to school after learning basketball, said, “I thought he would say it’s hard when he officially learns to play basketball, but he doesn’t say it’s hard. For him, basketball seems like a fun game. He enjoys wearing his basketball jersey to school and showing it off to his friends, and he enjoys going out to eat with his friends before basketball class. For whatever reason, I think it’s great that children, including Ha Jun-i, are enjoying themselves through basketball,” she said, adding that she feels much more at ease as a parent nowadays because of the joy of basketball for children.
Ms. Hong Hyun-jung, who also said that it was a big deal that her husband was falling more in love with basketball while her son was learning, said, “As Ha-joon learned to play basketball, my husband became more interested in basketball. Recently, he 토토사이트 bought the entire Slam Dunk comic book and said, ‘We should stop sending him to jump rope school and increase the number of basketball lessons so that he can focus more on basketball. When I showed him the video of the child’s first game, his father seemed to get even more greedy (laughs),” he said, adding that the father and son’s love for basketball was heating up.
Ms. Hong Hyun-jung, who said she wants all the children at the Gimpo Lunar New Year Basketball Class to have fun and learn to play basketball happily, said, “I want all the children, including Ha Jun-i, to have fun while learning leadership, caring, and sportsmanlike manners through basketball. Personally, I hope that he will continue to have good memories and experiences at the Gimpo Kujunghoe Basketball Class as he enjoys learning basketball with his friends,” concluded Ms. Hong.
- Assist For Youth is a project in which Assist will join forces with youth basketball classes across the country to promote youth basketball in 2022. For more information about the project, please visit the official Instagram account (@assist_for_youth).