Women's basketball team hosts girls clinic

Tanith L. Balaban Arizona Daily Wildcat Kelly Miller, age 11, takes shooting advice from UA forward Adia Barnes on Saturday as part of a clinic with the local Girl Scout Council and the Boys and Girls Club of Tucson. The 6-hour event for girls honed their skills and improved their knowledge of the game with the help of the UA women's basketball team.

But on Saturday, the team reversed positions and took time out to help some aspiring young players improve their game.

About 70 girls, all middle school students from around Tucson, attended a clinic where Wildcat coaches and players taught them how to dribble, shoot and play defense.

Some of the girls were termed "at-risk" by a worker at the clinic. She said many of the girls come from families with irresponsible parents, and others come from families who have been broken up by crime. She pointed at one girl and said her father had been murdered just last week.

But Saturday was not about family or personal tragedy. It was about basketball.

Marc Severson said his daughter, 11-year-old Samantha, was there to try and pick up some pointers before her team's first practice, which started yesterday.

"She's starting to play ball at Utterback (Middle School)," he said. "This is a good way for her to get some early training in basic techniques, and what better place to get it from."

He added that he hoped working with the Wildcats would impress upon his daughter what it takes to be a successful athlete.

The clinic, sponsored by the Girl Scouts and held at the Boy's and Girl's Club, was intended to provide sports programming for the increasing number of girls who are interested in athletics, said Judy Showers, a program manager for the Girl Scouts who was partly responsible for organizing the clinic.

The clinic also served as a recruiting forum of sorts for the Girl Scouts, as every girl who attended was added to the Girl Scout mailing list. Girls who could not afford the $10 admission were given a scholarship by the Girl Scouts and in return, those girls became Girl Scouts.

"These girls are at an impressionable age," Showers said, "We provide them an opportunity to get leadership skills and be all they can be."

Every girl who attended the clinic received a T-shirt, patch, sports diary and pamphlet about women's professional athletics.

In addition, each girl received a basketball donated by Bonvicini from her summer camp.

"I thought it went extremely well," Bonvicini said about the clinic. "Our players did an outstanding job."

Bonvicini said she would like to make clinics such as Saturday's an annual event.

"I enjoy working with kids directly," she said, "We're able to do a lot more."

Junior guard Amber Phoenix and senior forward Mikko Giordano agreed.

"It's just a fun thing for them," Giordano said. "They realized that it can get you somewhere. It can get you off the streets."

"We love the kids," Phoenix added. "It kind of felt like we were changing their lives."