PLAY HARD SPORTS
Debbie Metzger, in her third year as basketball coach at H.E. McCracken Middle School shared her passion for the game of basketball and its impact on the young women (often teens at risk ) that she coaches.
She fell in love with basketball 30 years ago. She calls herself a mentor, a teacher, an advocate and a coach to "her girls." She loves to work with 12-14 year old teenage girls coming from middle to low income backgrounds. She mentioned that quite often some of the girls have a very "tough" home life. She described how under her coaching, they learn a lot about basketball and they learn a lot about life.
Metzger's goal, in the program Play Hard Sports, is to encourage structure in their lives with a focus on academics.
"They get all my phone numbers," emphasized Metzger. "I want them to learn how to work together. It's not about them. It's about us." She said one of the most rewarding parts of her job is the emails she receives from teachers commenting at the changes going on with some of these teens that are on her team.
Metzger explained the need for financial help for her summer camp this year.
The economy has made it even more challenging for these promising basketball
stars to attend. "We are talking about families that must decide whether to buy food or pay for the summer camp," she stated. "Money is an issue for these girls."
The summer camps give them an opportunity to work on their game and allow Debbie to stay connected. The cost is $125 per week or $175 for 2 weeks. Metzger shared several personal stories of young athletes that faced enormous stress and crisis on the home front and were able to turn it around through the support of the team, the guidance of the coach and their determination to succeed.