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Network: October/November 2007
Optima Family Care Girl's Basketball Program Scores Big
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| Chris Howard | Chris Howard grew up in the projects in downtown Norfolk and knew first hand, there were many sports programs for boys, but few for girls. As community program manager for Optima Family Care, one of Virginia’s largest Medicaid managed care health plans, Howard was in a position to do something about it.
Think Outside the Box
Ten years ago, Howard ― an idea man who keeps a pad and pencil on his bedside table ― says he got to thinking, “What if we could offer health education to girls when they were young, maybe we could influence their choices and prevent problems? So, I worked with Sylvia Whitaker, regional marketing manager, Optima Family Care, and we came up with a basketball league as the main hook to draw them in.”
With $10,000 in seed money from Sentara Health Foundation, Howard and Whitaker teamed with the City of Norfolk Recreation Services to introduce a free, 14-team summer basketball league for 180 “at-risk” girls between the ages of 12 and 14. The program required the girls to participate in 45 minutes of health education before each game and included mandatory homework.
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| (L-R) Kenyatta Sears and her mother Rhonda Myers | Hitting the Books
Hampton High School student Kenyatta Sears admits she wasn’t crazy about the homework at first. “You had to take a book home and read it and at first I was like ‘more homework?’. Then I started liking it because you learn new things. It’s a real good program that can help you with your skills and with your knowledge about your health.”
The health education topics range from healthy eating, the importance of exercise and oral hygiene to how to prevent diabetes and high blood pressure and the negative effects of smoking and alcohol consumption on the body.
In a true team effort, Norfolk provided recreation centers and transportation and Optima provided uniforms, game officials, recognition for the players and registered nurses, coincidentally all female, to teach the health classes.
A Slam Dunk
The Norfolk summer league was so successful that staff developed the Hampton Roads Regional League featuring travel to compete with teams in seven cities: Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Suffolk, Hampton and Newport News.
Following this model, Optima also developed leagues in Central Virginia, Southside Virginia (Danville), and Winchester (The Valley). All of these leagues have seven teams representing seven counties in each of these areas.
The Optima Family Care Girl’s Community Basketball Program now touches more than 10,000 participants, parents, siblings and spectators each year. To operate each league, Sentara Optima Family Care donates more than $50,000 in resources and more than 3,000 staff hours.
On and Off the Court
Howard realizes the league has influenced far more than the girls’ knowledge about their health or the game of basketball. “The girls have more self esteem, their relationships at home got better and their grades improved,” says Howard.
“I’ve had parents come to me in tears telling me how the league has positively affected their daughters. Some of these kids had never been outside their city. So, we found we were affecting them in ways we didn’t even know.”
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| Melissa Wingate, participant in the league | In Demand
Melissa Wingate, a tenth grader at Bethel High School in Hampton has played with the league for several years. “My basketball skills have definitely improved and I’ve met a lot of friends from outside Hampton that I wouldn’t have met otherwise,” she reports.
“I liked the health classes before the games and learning about things like why you shouldn’t smoke and how to keep your heart healthy. I learned a lot of stuff. Everything was free. That’s another thing I liked about it.”
Wingate, now age 15, did cite one drawback: “Last year was my last year of playing. I wish they could extend the age range a couple of years…”
Learning for Life
“You can see these kids learning and applying what they’ve learned. They’re getting health education and exercise, says Howard.”
“We don’t care if they’ve never played basketball before. This league isn’t about winning or losing. We want the girls to come out, have fun, meet new people and learn something for life.”
 Want to find out more about the Optima Family Care Girl's Community Basketball League? Call Chris Howard at 757-552-8883.
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