We’re excited to share a bit about the exciting program we've been developing over the last two years: 318 SPORTS, a tailored week-long sports seminar for 8th and 9th-grade girls. We’ve partnered with an HBCU in Louisiana to host the first 318 SPORTS Champions Academy in the summer of 2024. This week-long program will cater to girls in North and Central Louisiana to foster leadership skills in athletes who may lack the exposure to unlock their full potential. Mentors and guest speakers will highlight topics such as financial literacy, NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness), public speaking, mental wellness, and additional professional skills training.
The goal of 318 SPORTS is to build complete and robust student-athletes who will be prepared for life in and after sports. We are working with regional organizations and schools to identify exceptional 8th and 9th-grade girls from North and Central Louisiana who would benefit from the collection of knowledge that our Founder, Alana Beard, has learned through her 15-year-long career in professional basketball. Sharing this knowledge with girls from historically underserved communities will not only benefit them as they transition into high school and then college, but it will impart necessary knowledge and guidance.
Alana has chosen to work in areas she has traveled through in her youth basketball career. With a total of 48 girls, the 318 SPORTS Champions Academy will be a life-changing experience for the girls involved. In addition to programming for the girls, this clinic brings out 12 female coaches in their 1st or 2nd year of coaching who would benefit from additional mentorship themselves. Building a community and culture of trust as a team takes effort, skill, and tenacity–something we know we can cultivate.
Flowing off our 318 VISION program, we are sure that 318 SPORTS will build champions on and off the court. As our Founder has said many times, “Sports is a vehicle.” We must use this vehicle to help girls envision lives larger than their circumstances.
Innovation is happening right now.
318 SPORTS Champions Academy, coming June 2024.
