Creating pathways on and off the court: Koorie Academy’s goal

Since its creation, the goal of the Koorie Academy was to provide an avenue for young Indigenous athletes to engage with basketball in a fun, safe environment.

They have been able to achieve this thanks in part to a collection of motivated coaches, happy to give back to their community through sport.

One such coach is Jasmine ‘Jazzy’ Greenwood, who has been helping run clinics since she was a teenager.

Having grown up playing basketball, Jazzy said she was motivated to help spread the love for basketball to the rest of her community.

“I have played basketball my whole life and it seemed like a fun opportunity to give it a go, connect with mob a bit more and give back to the community,” she said.

“The highlight of Koorie Academy is really just seeing the kids come out of their shells. They might be a bit shy to start, but so many of them fall in love with the game really quickly and want to keep enjoying the sport while connecting with mob.

“Seeing that confidence grow is so cool because they might go from doing a few of our clinics to then wanting to come to a Melbourne United clinic, or join a basketball club.”

With the opportunity to teach the game on the court, while engaging and sharing the importance of her culture off it, the Koorie Academy has influenced countless lives through basketball.

With our Indigenous game against the Sydney Kings set for Monday evening, Jazzy believes the contest and presentation around it provides a great opportunity for young Indigenous athletes to feel represented and a part of something.

“(Indigenous Round) is a fantastic thing because it tells people that racism and exclusion is not okay, and lets mob know that they can feel included in something bigger than them,” she explained.

“We want to represent culture and create opportunities. It’s about being a part of something. It gives them a chance to celebrate their Indigenous identity through sport at a young age.”

To learn more about the Koorie Academy, click here, and to secure your seat to Monday night’s blockbuster matchup, click here.