BASKETBALL: Professional players from the JDA Dijon meet young amateurs at the Mail gymnasium in Chenôve
The “JDA in the heart of our neighborhoods” operation, set up by Habellis and the Dijon club, took place at the Mail gymnasium in Chenôve on Wednesday 27 April. Gavin Ware, Abdoulaye Loum and Arthur Simon took part in the workshops punctuated by the overflowing enthusiasm of the young people.
The social landlord Habellis and the JDA Dijon deploy the operation “the JDA in the heart of our neighborhoods” twice a year, one with the handball section and the other with the basketball section of the Dijon club.
“There is competition but there is also social issues”
While Habellis tenants are invited to accompany professional handball players and professional basketball players during the presentation of the teams before the games, nine times in the season, the appointments of the operation mentioned are organized within the neighborhood gymnasiums.
At the Mail gymnasium in Chenôve this Wednesday, April 27, 2022, Gavin Ware, Abdoulaye Loum and Arthur Simon melted into an enthusiastic atmosphere to lead workshops for the benefit of young people from Chenôve, Dijon sud and Marsannay but also U9 players and U11 of the Basket Club of Chenove. About fifty young people were thus in outfits and excited by the arrival of these exceptional “coaches”.
Karim Belmadani, Solidarity, Tranquility, Proximity Director at Habellis, highlighted in particular an original meeting around the practice of sport.
“Hosting such an operation is part of our values. There is the competition but there is also the social. It’s essential and it’s natural to participate”, we provided Lucille Petetin, president of BC Chenôve paying 341 licensees this season, a senior women’s team which evaluated in National 2 the next season and a senior men’s team maintained in National 3 .
“A professional club cannot exist without amateur clubs”
The arrival of Gavin Ware impressed the young people of the club. “An American basketball player is magic for them! “.
Beyond the models they embody, in a period when they are focused on the race for the playoffs in the French championship, the basketball players of the Dijon club at the rendezvous got to the level of young people this Wednesday.
“They are happy to just play basketball. The idea is to ensure that they make the most of the moment, that they laugh, that they have fun and go home with the feeling of having had a good day”, a summary Abdoulaye Loum, s being on the occasion remembered his participation in the workshops of the genre when he was a young amateur.
“At that age, you have to take the time to evolve in your club and have fun”, confirmed Frédéri Lambert, coach of the U18 Elite of the JDA Dijon training center, having described the operation in this way. : “It is for the JDA Dijon to come closer to young basketball players and even young people who are not. It is also to show that a professional club can be close to the amateur clubs in its territory, because a professional club cannot exist without the amateur clubs. And coming as close as possible to young people, with accessible professional players, perhaps tomorrow to arouse vocations ”.
The operation ended with a signing session and a snack. The young people could not resist the temptation to ask professional players for autographs as soon as they arrived at the gymnasium or between two workshops on the fundamentals.
This half-day was also possible with the agreement of the City of Chenôve and the Municipal Sports Office.
Alix Berthier
Photos: Alix Berthier