Cooperative basketball in Malvin Norte: a meeting space from sports practice

In Malvín Norte, within the Covisunca homes that are located on Zum Felde street, there is a solidarity basketball school.

A group of friends from the neighborhood, who in addition to having an amateur basketball team for three years had collaborated with popular pots since the crisis caused by the covid-19 pandemic broke out, had the idea of ​​creating an activity that would contribute to the social level . Seeing that children and adolescents had fewer face-to-face activities and had a lot of free time that was not used for sports – quite the opposite: they took the opportunity to play with electronic devices -, they decided to contribute from basketball.

The idea arose to create a school for the neighborhood and thus take advantage of a field of the Covisunca cooperative that was not used much and was empty for most of the day.

They brought together four close friends who, although they are not teachers, have an idea of ​​the discipline after years of practice, and on October 31 of last year they began.

They took a month prior to the start to summon interested parties and the attendance exceeded expectations. “There were many more gurises than we expected,” says Rodrigo Morele, one of the founders of the project.

They divided the group into two age categories and with the support of the cooperative’s promotion commission, which donated cones, balls, rings and other supplies, they were able to start classes.

Then they made more balls and materials thanks to the support of people linked to the sport, as well as donations from residents of the neighborhood, since it is a free and free activity, and those who provide it do so on an honorary basis. They managed to receive visits from sports figures such as former American player Cliff Morgan, who has worked as a technical assistant in the NBA, and created other instances to “get out of the ordinary and for children to learn something that will serve them for life, and Furthermore, if anyone is interested in continuing to play, we want to encourage that, ”Morele explained.

Currently there are 35 participants who train from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., in the range of five to ten years, and from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., those from 11 to 17 years old. The activity is open to all public and free.

“It started as a place of escape during the pandemic and continues to grow day by day because the neighborhood offers nothing in any other way. Here they manage to generate ties between them and take knowledge with them. A nice group of friends was formed who share after the end of the day and they stopped being strangers, ”Morele concluded.