The Facts
Tim Meyer and Derek Weis
The Warriors Basketball Academy
The Warriors Basketball Academy in Chicago is a school that focuses on both education and basketball for at-risk youth. The mission of The Warriors Basketball Academy is to create a better future through building character and learning life-long skills. Our goal as an academy is to improve basic educational skills. As a basketball program, we want to teach students the value of a team and create a safe and fun environment to improve their basic basketball skills.
The Issue
Many kids in Chicago and other urban areas in the United States face many threats with violence and drugs and do not have the opportunity to receive the education they need. The following are statistics taken from Chicago and The United States on at-risk youth and teens:
Over 700,000 people in 2011 were treated for injuries that they received from assaults. These young people were between the ages of 10-24 ("Youth Violence National and State").
The United States had over 12,600 homicides in 2011. About 2,900 of the victims were sadly under the age of 22 (Johns).
Over half of the teen shooting victims in the United States had below average grades (Johns).
75 percent of high school students have taken a harmful drug, used alcohol or smoked cigarettes. Also about 66 percent of students have taken one or more drugs that are considered addictive ("Information on At Risk").
- Almost 700 children were shot last year in Chicago, which is a rate of almost two children a day. Sadly 66 of these young children died (Moser).
- 77 percent of popular TV shows influence high school students to drink or take other drugs due to what's being shown on TV ("Information on At Risk").
In Chicago there were 52 homicides in the first 8 weeks of 2013. 15 of these victims were between the age of 13 and 19 (Johns).
The Solution
- When 367 at risk youth were participating in sports and other fitness programs, about 88 percent of the students improved their academic skill when they were tested (Murch).
- Students who participated in the after school soccer program scored below the state average at the beginning, and after the program had average test scores in reading, math, and other classroom activities (Hritz).
- Academic, social skills, classroom behavior, and self esteem can be improved through participation in after school activities (Hritz).
There are many after school programs targeting these at-risk students, but they will only keep the youth safe for a few hours after school. With our new academy design, these students will be out of their hostile environments for five days a week and will benefit more from an educational and basketball standpoint.
Contact Information
References
Hritz, Nancy. “Outcomes of an After-School Soccer Program for At-Risk Youth.” LARNet. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.
“Information on At Risk Youth Statistics.” At Risk Youth Programs. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.
Johns, Nikara. “Breaking Cycle of Youth Violence a Challenge.” Red Line Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.
Kids playing basketball. Mommy to the Max. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Moser, Whet. “Chicago’s Youth Violence Epidemic: A Victim of Success?” Chicago Youth Violence. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.
Murch, Tim. “Sports-based programs are helping at-risk youth.” St. Loius Post Dispatch. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.
“Youth Violence National and State Statistics at a Glance.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.