A new community based anti-violent crime initiative that will see young people receive elite-level basketball coaching as well as online mentoring has been launched in Northamptonshire and businesses are being invited to get involved and help change young lives.
The Sideline Project, run by Athletic Elite, will see young people from some of the most vulnerable schools in the county taking part in private basketball sessions. The programme comes off the back of Athletic Elite’s collaboration with Basketball Northants to provide the anti-knife crime initiative, Carry A Basketball Not A Blade, which saw Athletic Elite’s founders invited to 10 Downing Street in January in recognition of the project’s success across the county.
The Sideline Project will provide young people with regular online mentoring as well as a physical outlet through regular private basketball sessions and camps out of term time. This will be partnered with in-school workshops that include crime prevention days and positive psychology and emotional skill building workshops aimed at providing young people with a skill set to recognise and prevent themselves making decisions that lead them to violent crime.
Athletic Elite was founded by Andre Arissol, Jay Brownbill and Timothy Fava with the aim of providing young people around Northamptonshire with a framework that would change their outlook on life. It aspires to offer young people an opportunity to partake in sport within an environment that is conducive to them being a creative individual, who expresses key values that sum up a positive and progressing human and at the same time looks to deliver elite level coaching to those who are looking to make a career as a professional athlete.
Andre Arissol said:
“We work in partnership with the best ranked State School for Sport in Britain, Northampton School for Boys. Creating an elite pathway within Northamptonshire means local talent does not need to go far afield to access the highest levels of basketball in the country. We will also be pulling in talent from across the country throughout the year to partake in out Elite camps, which will see notable coaches from around the world working with us to establish Northampton as one of the high-level basketball hubs in the East Midlands and around the country.
“Alongside that, our Community Camps are also extremely popular. This February half term we had over 60 young people aged from six to 15 at our half term camp and 40% of those were from local high-risk schools.”
Athletic Elite has released details of its scholarship scheme to businesses around the county, inviting them to fund young people who are in a less stable socio-economic situation to be able to access an intense year-round programme. This includes online mentoring sessions and on-court one-to-ones with the aim of helping those young people get access to physical and mental workshops that will allow them to develop alongside those who are more fortunate.
“Any businesses that supports us will receive feedback on details about the young people that have been put through the scholarship scheme, allowing them to proudly promote their community work and encourage other businesses find a way to give back to their community,” said Andre. “So, whether it’s sponsoring our community camps or sponsoring kids throughout their academic journey, it is all very much appreciated as we embark on this journey to change Northamptonshire and the young adults we raise!”
To find out more about the project, call Timothy Fava on 07955 112495, visit www.athleticelite.uk or email athleticeliteuk@gmail.com
