As teams walked through Riverfront Park to pick up their packets for Hoopfest Friday, they had the opportunity to join a kids clinic or watch a mascot game to see the Spokane Indians’ Ribby the Redband Trout and Joe the Idaho Vandal compete in a 3-on-3 game.
The University of Idaho is sponsoring Hoopfest for the second year in a row and put on the clinic to pair the school’s men’s and women’s basketball teams with youngsters eager to learn their skills.
“We look for an opportunity to bring our athletes up to Spokane and have a word with the kids and hopefully inspire them and feed off the college player’s passion for basketball,” said John Barnhart, co-chief marketing officer at UI. “What inspired the skills clinic is really kind of what we stand for at the University of Idaho, we’re an educational institution, we’re helping people achieve their goals.”
UI hopes to encourage kids to keep doing what they love and keep having fun.
“It gets these kids super excited, and they’re ready to go play,” said Titus Yearout, junior guard on the UI men’s basketball team.
The mascot component of the event was back by popular demand, Barnhart said.
“You could just see they were having so much fun, and when the mascot challenge ended, all the kids wanted pictures with the mascots, autographs with the mascots, so I hope that this is a longstanding tradition.”
The community engagement grows year by year at Hoopfest, the international tournament that kicks off Saturday, providing a variety of opportunities for all, from kids who have never had a coach to professionals who traveled to Spokane from other countries .
“It’s a good way for them to have fun and get ready for their games the next day,” said Rachel Zarowny, manager of sponsors and partnerships for Hoopfest.
“It is really cool to have local universities that support Hoopfest and our community,” Zarowny added.
Connecting the youth and college athletes to have a good time gives everyone an opportunity to be seen as a part of this community.
“It feels great being able to give back to all these kids because, like, I used to be in their shoes, and I would want the same thing if I was them, to have someone to look up to and teach them a few things and kind of be, like, an older mentor,” Yearout said. “Working these clinics is like, if I was at this age, I know I would’ve been super excited to come out here and play with some Division I athletes and learn some tips and tricks.”
Yearout said he started going to Hoopfest at a young age, and it “kind of gets that fire started with basketball.”
The kids described the clinic and college players as educational, helpful and exciting, enjoying activities such as the relays and layups. The college players enjoyed encouraging these kids to keep working hard and having a good time, according to Vandals’ senior forward Julius Mims .
“We’re all down to do it. We did it last year and it was a blast, and this year was awesome, too,” Mims said.