WS Chronicle

With youth sports becoming more and more about winning, some parents prefer to have their children learn the game they love in an environment that is less stressful. If you like the sound of that, then the Kernersville Shooting Stars Youth Basketball Academy (SSYBA) might be the place for you.

SSYBA is a community-based organization that develops character building skills, as well as the enhancement of basketball FUN-damentals for all youth in Kernersville and the surrounding areas. SSYBA focuses on a positive, structured and FUN-filled environment for youth to learn and build on character as well as their basketball skills.

Andrea Maine, founder of SSYBA, has a deep love for basketball and helping kids learn the game, so it seemed like a perfect fit to open the academy for kids in the Triad.

“The blueprint for the organization was established when I was at Sergeants Major Academy in 2006, El Paso, Texas, and one of the reasons I decided to come up with the program was because a lot of the youth that I would encounter were interested in being a basketball player, but their parents were either single parents or dual military, dual working, or the kids were from underprivileged neighborhoods,” said Maine.  

“So, I said ‘why not put something together where we would help to stabilize some of these kids that don’t have the stabilization to be an athlete and be successful in the classroom because there is no time to commit from the parents.’”

Maine recalled a story of a young man on her son’s youth sports team that also influenced her decision to start the academy.

“Another reason was I met a kid on one of my son’s basketball teams and the kid never played,” she said. “He would just sit at the end of the bench and I think they were seventh graders and he was okay with just sitting on the end of the bench as long as his name was on the list as being a part of the team.

“That did something to me. I said we had grown beyond teaching kids the fundamentals and teaching them good sportsmanship and being a part of a team. Everything is so competitive now and I think that takes away from what basketball is all about.”

Maine says the formula was very successful in Texas and they had over 100 kids participate. She feels because we are in the midst of the pandemic, this would be one way to make the kids feel normal again without a lot of pressure on them.

Learning the game of basketball is important, but Maine says the kids in the academy must maintain their academic standing if they wish to play.

“I just want to start this academy here to bring kids up the proper way,” she continued. “Teaching them the fundamentals of basketball, but helping them remember that to be a basketball player you have to be on your A-game in the classroom because you are a student first.  

“In the academy, that’s what we will stress. We will have mentors as well as coaches in the academy. We want the kids to have fun but at the same time, we want to stress the student-first philosophy.”

Outside of basketball, SSYBA will require their kids to participate in community service. They will have three different age divisions, serving kids from kindergarten to sixth grade. The kids will also have to maintain a 2.5 GPA in school and for those who have not met that standard, tutors will be provided for them.

The length of the academy is for six months. During that time, the kids in the academy will play other kids in the academy, instead of traveling around to play other organizations.

“I don’t want to stress competition in this organization because that’s not what it’s all about,” Maine said. “Six months for stability and six months so that they can get an opportunity to go out into the community to do something and six months because you have to establish a foundation and you have to build upon that foundation.”

Maine has always loved the game of basketball and began playing the game in elementary school. She grew up in an underprivileged neighborhood and wants to give other young people who are growing up like her the opportunity to play the sport she loves.

For more information on SSYBA, you can visit www.kvilleshootingstars.com or email them at kvilleshootingstars@yahoo.com. Maine is looking for the academy to start on April 15 and run through Oct. 15.