Coaching Barefoot to Make a Difference

A couple summers ago, I went to Thessaloniki, Greece to direct some basketball clinics. Unfortunately, my luggage took a couple extra days to make the trip, so I was stuck in the clothes I wore on the plane: jeans, t-shirt and flip-flops. I did the first two days of camp in barefeet. While not a huge deal, as I wear flip-flops everywhere except the basketball court normally, coaching in barefeet really is inconvenient when you are used to wearing shoes. Demonstrating ball handling moves is far more difficult in barefeet.

On Thursday, I am going to coach in barefeet again. I did not lose my luggage this time. Instead, I caught a quick interview with IUPUI (Indiana University, Purdue University at Indianapolis) Men’s Head Basketball Coach, Ron Hunter. He spoke about honoring Martin Luther King Jr.’s memory by coaching barefoot in his game on January 24th at home against Oakland in order to raise awareness, money and shoes for the millions of kids who walk to school, play sports and live without shoes.

When I visited South Africa in 2001 and 2002, I conducted clinics with kids in barefeet. I attended a tournament at a school with two girls’ teams, probably 12-years-old, and each team had two pair of flip-flops which they shared with each other. The tournament was outside, on asphalt on a fairly warm day.

Since my visits, I have sent shoes to Africa through Hoops 4 Hope (South Africa). On Thursday, while coaching barefoot, I hope to raise money for Samaritan’s Feet, an organization started by Emmanuel (Manny) Ohonme.

Manny is originally from Nigeria and grew up very poor. He received his first pair of shoes at the age of 9 from a missionary, who also taught him how to play basketball. These shoes allowed him to run and play without getting hurt and helped him get better at sports, specifically basketball.

He started playing travel basketball during his childhood and eventually played high school basketball in Nigeria. Manny was blessed with the ability to play basketball at a high level and eventually earned a scholarship to play at the University of North Dakota - Lake Region.

While in school, Manny earned his bachelors and masters degrees. He had a chance to play basketball overseas, but he turned it down to concentrate on his education. After graduation, he spent ten years in the logistics business prior to starting Samaritan’s Feet.

Samaritan’s Feet was formed in 2003 and four years later over 500,000 pairs of shoes have been donated.

If you would like to support Samaritan’s Feet,

go here to donate money to buy shoes for a child in Africa.

Join with other coaches around the country and choose one Friday in February to coach your game in your barefeet, as part of Samaritan Feet’s “Funky Feet Friday.”

Finally, donate used, but well-kept shoes to Hoops 4 Hope (Samaritan Feet does not accept used shoes) Go here and scroll down to see how Hoops 4 Hope is trying to fill a van full of shoes to send to Zimbabwe and here to find information on how to send your old shoes to Africa via Hoops 4 Hope.

In San Diego, I am trying to find a location for a shoe drive. If you would like more information in San Diego, email this site and we’ll make it happen.

If you coach barefoot or sponsor a shoe drive, post your school here. I will send the high school or youth coach who posts here and raises the most shoes or money by the end of February one Great Ball Handling Made Easy DVD, 180 Shooter and Brian McCormick’s Hard2Guard Player Development Newsletter, Volume 1.