Professional basketball player Damen Bell-Holter leads a youth clinic in Wrangell last week, showing a group of elementary school students how to practice their free throws. Hailing from Hydaberg, the athlete hopes to be a positive role model for other rural Alaskans – on and off the court.
arpen their skills on the basketball court last week, during a two-day clinic hosted at the high school.
The Alaska Native Sisterhood Association brought down Damen Bell-Holter, a professional player and life coach whose "Blessed 2 Bless" program reaches out to youth around the country. Having grown up in Hydaburg, he was a hit with Wrangell's own aspiring athletes as an example of what hard work can accomplish.
Raised in Hydaburg, after being signed with the Boston Celtics for the 2013 season, Bell-Holter has played with regional and national leagues in Maine, Hungary, Turkey and Finland. He is currently the power forward for Italian A2 League team Fortitudo Agrigento, one of two Americans playing on the team's starting lineup.
Kids came down to the high school gym on June 13 and 14, with drill and training sessions held a couple of hours at a time throughout each day aimed at specific age groups.
"It was great," said Lovey Brock, ANSA president. "We had about 50 kids the first day, and more the second."
Healthy, high energy snacks were provided to keep participants on their toes, and they learned how to improve their shooting, control,
passing and other fundamentals of the game. Bell-Holter also took the opportunity to encourage skill sets for off the court, like respect and community pride. He draws on his own experiences living in rural Alaska, and speaks to a number of issues that are felt most distinctively in area communities, such as suicide.
"We like the message he gives to kids," Brock commented. "I think there's a real need for older figureheads that they can look up to. He's excellent, because he's been through it."
First bringing his clinic to Wrangell last summer, the positive experience kids had with it prompted ANSA to bring Blessed 2 Bless back for another round this year. The group partnered with sponsors to raise funds: Southeast Alaska Rural Health Consortium and First Bank each contributed $2,000, for example, and smaller businesses and individuals like Grand View Bed & Breakfast, Dave's Welding and Willy Eyon also donated.
Costs were covered in a way to make participation free to interested children. The end goal was to raise $7,000 in all for the two-day camp, a sum Brock expected should be reached once a pair of system-wide tickets donated by Alaska Airlines are raffled off. Tickets for the raffle will be sold starting July 1, wrapping up September 1.
The organization plans to host other activities through the summer, aimed primarily at youth but also at adults. "Our goal is to bring different events for the kids to be involved with," said Brock.
In August, ANSA will host a course on building bentwood boxes – a distinctively Alaskan, wooden container made without nails or fasteners – complete with a design component that will teach participants how to paint in traditional patterns.
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