SPORTS Keeping It Real
SPORTS Keeping It Real CCF basketball camp scores big PHOTOS BY DANIEL MOEN BY STEVE STEIN Vince Manna About 30 sixth- through eighthgrade students from Grissom Middle School in Sterling Heights learned about basketball and much more this summer at a no-cost camp designed especially for them. The Keeping It Real Basketball Camp, an initiative of the Chaldean Community Foundation (CCF) funded by a ,000 grant from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Legacy Funds, did what its name implied over 10 weeks from June through August. “We have a working relationship with Grissom. Staff members there selected the boys and girls for the camp,” said Leila Kello, the Foundation’s director of development. “While the majority of the kids who attended the camp are Chaldean, it was a diverse group. It was amazing seeing them come together from the first day of camp to the last day of camp. These kids go to the same school, but many didn’t know each other before the camp. So many friendships were created.” Camp director Vince Manna also noticed the socialization among the camp participants. “Many of the kids were shy towards each other on the first day of the camp,” he said. “It was wonderful watching them build friendships. That was the best part of the camp.” Building friendships among the Grissom students was one of the major purposes of the camp. Besides learning basketball and leadership skills and team building, and having an outlet for physical activity, the camp opened the doors for friendships among students who normally wouldn’t associate with each other. Camp participants bonded on the basketball court at the CCF campus in Sterling Heights, and they also had fun together while enjoying free snacks in the cantina after each two-hour camp session. Grissom Principal Elizabeth Iljkoski was impressed with the results of the camp. “As we welcomed our students back to school, I checked in on the students who participated in the summer basketball camp at the CCF. Their positive interactions with peers was one of the first things I noticed about them,” she said. “Some who had struggled to make friends or keep friends seemed so much more at ease with their peers. They loved telling me about the basketball camp and what they learned.” Manna said camp participants started the camp sessions with a mix of basketball skill levels, and uneven knowledge about the game. “Some of the kids didn’t know anything about basketball,” he said. While the basketball learning curves varied widely for the camp participants during the summer, the lessons sports can teach applied to all of them. “Hopefully we provided the kids with skills they can use in their lives,” Manna said. “Things like teamwork, having a common goal, how to handle adversity, and how to work with people with different skill levels.” Manna is a Bloomfield Hills resident and first-year University of Detroit Mercy law student. He was an appropriate choice to run the basketball camp because his basketball background is impressive for a 23-year-old. As a player, he was on the 2016 state champion University of Detroit Jesuit High School team that was led by future Michigan State University star Cassius Winston. The following season, in his senior year, Manna was a U-D Jesuit team captain. He was the head student manager for the University of Kentucky basketball team before graduating in 2021 with a degree in management and marketing. He’s served internships with the NBA’s Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks and Los Angeles-based SPORTS continued on page 41 Above: Keeping It Real Basketball Camp participants and staff members gather on the last day of camp. Right: Vince Manna explains a drill at the Keeping It Real Basketball Camp. 30 CHALDEAN NEWS NOVEMBER 2022
CITIZENSHIP PREPARATION NOW ENROLLING FOR FALL CLASSES OCTOBER 4 – DECEMBER 15 Tuesdays and Thursdays MORNING SESSIONS 9:30 am – 12:00 pm OR EVENING SESSIONS 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm REGISTRATION WILL BEGIN ON SEPTEMBER 26, 2022 To register please call CCF at 586-722-7253 registration fee CHALDEAN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION 3601 15 MILE ROAD, STERLING HEIGHTS, MI 48310 586-722-7253 CHALDEANFOUNDATION.ORG NOVEMBER 2022 CHALDEAN NEWS 31
