PeacePlayers US Storybook 2021 - Flipbook - Page 20
2021 UNITED STATES STORYBOOK
2021 UNITED STATES STORYBOOK
MUCH MORE THAN A GAME
The first time Jacob Anderson, 14, heard about PeacePlayers, his
expectations weren’t exactly soaring.
An entire afternoon spent running around with kids he didn’t
know, playing a sport he didn’t like, had very little appeal to him.
It sounded even worse to his younger sister, Bre Coopwood, 12,
whose approach to playing basketball was to, well, not play
basketball.
Nevertheless, when an organization they are both a part of, The
Boys and Girls Club of Watts/Willowbrook, began collaboration
with PeacePlayers they decided to set aside any apprehensions
they had and give it a try, out of trust and loyalty for the leadership
at the Boys and Girls Club.
And it turned out quite differently than what they were expecting.
“I did not like the idea of having to play basketball,” Bre said. “Until
I finally started the program.”
Jacob had a similar reaction.
“I didn’t think I would have fun at first,” he said. “At the Boys and
Girls Club, I did have friends, but I wasn’t talking to everybody.
But with PeacePlayers, I got to talk to everybody. And sometimes
I could be on teams with people that I would never think I would
be on teams with, that I would never work with. I liked working
with other people a lot.”
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While many of their peers at the club went to different schools,
PeacePlayers bridged the gap that made it seemingly difficult to
connect with more than just the familiar faces.
During their first PeacePlayers session, Jacob and Bre learned that
they hadn’t signed up for basketball lessons but for life lessons.
PeacePlayers uses basketball as a way to help young people
develop skills – working together, building relationships – that
will accompany them in whatever path they choose.
Sure, they were on a basketball court and there was dribbling and
shooting. But there were other activities designed to connect kids
to one another rather than independently turn them into better
basketball players.
Bre’s favorite activity was a game called “Metal Pipes” in which
groups of three are tasked with transporting a ping pong ball
across the gym using two metal pipes.
“I was getting frustrated,” Bre said. “Like, ‘Ah, I can’t get it to the
end of the gym.’ But at the same time I was like, I’m kind of having
fun. Like, this is fun. I want to do this again.”
When it came time for their summer session to come to an end,
Bre thanked PeacePlayers’ Evan Unrau and Natalie Gutierrez by
making them hand-crafted earrings that grabbed the attention
of their friends. Evan described her reaction to the gift as pure
admiration for Bre’s “entrepreneurial spirit”, as she detailed the
resourcefulness of what she had created. In return, Bre lit up with
joy. And what was more? Natalie’s friends wanted a pair. A pair
of dangle earrings crafted from purple plastic dinosaurs. She even
went as far as to package them precisely as one would find in a
store.
The impact of having positive experiences with PeacePlayers has
extended from the basketball court to home and to the classroom.
Jacob and Bre say PeacePlayers has helped them to reconcile
some of their arguments – they understand now it’s best to ask
permission if they want to enter each other’s rooms – and they’re
more interested in participating in Physical Education classes in
school.
“Every single time I messed up on something and I’d feel really
bad about it, they’d give me high five,” Bre said. “They’d be like
‘you can do this. You’re doing great. You’re amazing.’ And it made
me feel like wow, I can really do this. Sometimes you just need
encouraging words in your life. Because if you’re going through
something you’re going to be like I can’t do this anymore. But with
somebody saying ‘you can do this, you’ve got this’ I know I can
succeed.
“And I like that a lot about the summer because it was
constant. It wasn’t just a one time thing. Right after the first
week of PeacePlayers I was like I want to go back. I want it
to be Thursday again. I want to play cool games. I don’t care
if we run, I just want to go to PeacePlayers.”
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