BRIDGEPORT — The Bridgeport-based Swish Basketball program is expanding its national championship program.
The Lady Swish program will be hosting tryouts Sunday at Swish Court in the Chicago Indoor Sports Facility at 3900 S. Ashland Ave. Tryouts for the third-, fourth- and fifth-grade teams will begin at 11 a.m., followed by tryouts for the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade teams at noon, said Sumayyah Muhammad, who will be leading the program.
Lady hoopers should arrive 15-20 minutes early to check in, equipped with a water bottle and basketball shoes. There will be a $25 charge to participate in the tryout, which is for players of all skill levels, said Muhammad, who was a four-year starter at Julian High School before playing college hoops in Iowa and Kansas.
"The program is all about helping young girls build self-esteem, confidence, learn life lessons, become more active and build life-long friendships," Muhammad said.
"This program will be a lot more than just basketball. The teams will be coached by former high school and college athletes. All of the coaches will be knowledgeable about the game and will help every girl in the program be the best player they can be," Muhammad said.
Muhammad has trained players as young as 3 years old and has coached at the high school level in Minnesota and the collegiate level in Boston, she said.
The Swish program teaches basketball to children ages 4 years and older with a focus on skill development and positive habits that transcend the game of basketball. Swish's boys program took home an AAU National Program in 2014, according to their website.
"Swish Basketball prides itself on teaching the game and developing basketball skills to help student-athletes reach their potential, while learning life lessons on and off the court," said Kyle White, director of basketball operations for Swish.
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