Basketball brought kids and parents together on Kids Unlimited’s courts for seven packed weeks of learning and fun.

KU’s instructional basketball league hosted more than 100 first- through third-grade students of both KU Academy public charter school and KU Afterschool programs at Medford’s Title I elementary schools. The league was supported by generous donations from Toyota, Medford Rogue Rotary and West Family Foundation.

Along with basketball basics, kids learned teamwork, leadership and social-emotional skills. Two weeks of games concluded the session from Feb. 1 to mid-March. Each player received a league shirt and uniform jersey.

A special “Parent, You are the Coach” clinic invited adult guardians to learn simple drills to practice with their children at home, promoting healthy, interactive activities at any age and skill level. Every parent-child duo who attended the single-day session took home brand-new basketballs, provided by Rotary.

The program builds on KU’s longtime Pass to Play programming, which incentivizes students’ academic performance and positive behavior. Through community volunteers and partnerships, Pass to Play removes fees, transportation needs and cultural barriers to participation.

Also removing barriers for spectators, Pass to Play promotes equity among parents, many of whom never played sports for reasons of culture, language or economics, said KU founder and CEO Tom Cole. Adults who show up to watch their players are welcomed and included in the arena of athletics, many for the first time in their lives, illustrating how KU is “changing the game,” literally and metaphorically, said Cole.

National research shows nearly 8 out of 10 kids who live in high-poverty households don’t play sports. KU players realize a sense of belonging from being part of a team and learn the value of hard work, commitment and belief in themselves, said Cole. KU also leverages its Food Program to provide healthy snacks for players, many of whom lack adequate nutrition.

KU’s 2024 instructional basketball league, which included students as young as 5, revealed delays in many kids’ physical, mental and emotional development, said Cole. The barriers for these players aren’t just social, cultural and economic, he said. They include basic exposure to physical activity that many of KU’s highest-risk youth lack in their home environments. The deficits often play out in school classrooms, including at KUA.

Kids who have experienced tremendous hardships can find purpose on the basketball court, where they receive positive feedback and feel pride, even if they never score a basket, said Cole. Finding a place of belonging is the higher goal of Pass to Play.