“I’m not a baby anymore,” say the youngest members of Gimpo’s Koojeonghoe basketball class as they play their first ever game

The youngest members of the Gimpo Kujunghoe Basketball Class played the first basketball game of their lives that they will never forget.

This is part of the Assist For Youth project that Assist has been working on since 2022 to develop youth basketball in South Korea. The second grade team of the Gimpo Kujunghoe Basketball Classroom, which is part of the project, experienced their first official basketball game since forming.

Gimpo Kujunghoe Basketball Class is a representative basketball class in Gimpo, where various age groups from elementary school to adults learn to play basketball. Led by Mr. Koo Jeong-ho, who also serves as the president of the Gimpo City Basketball Association, Gimpo Koo Jeong-ho Basketball Class serves as a love room for parents in Gimpo City through its lively activities.

A second grade team was formed at the beginning of this year. The second grade team, who started learning basketball seriously by bouncing a basketball bigger than their bodies, is also a precious bond made by COVID-19.

After COVID-19, mothers who were worried about their children not having a place to play to their hearts’ content got together and asked the director of Gimpo Guzhenghoe Basketball Class to let them use the gymnasium, and even though they were not his students at the time, he graciously opened the gym.

Since the children entered elementary school last year, the second-graders have been enrolled in the Gimpo Basketball 먹튀검증 Class since the beginning of this year, and they have been taking the class as a team to learn basketball seriously.

The second grade team of the Gimpo Kujunghoe Basketball Class, who are just now getting familiar with the rules and basic movements of basketball, played their first basketball game on the 25th. Their opponent was Bucheon Hype Basketball Class. The team consisted of Kang Ha-joon, Seo Jung-woo, Park Jung-woo, Hwang Hyun-jung, Kim Yoon-seop, Kim Soo-gyeom, Choi Dong-min, Joo Chan-ho, Park Ian, and Noh Ha-joon.

Playing their first basketball game of their lives, the second grade team of the Gimpo Koojunghoe Basketball Class started off strong. From the first quarter, they played so hard that you couldn’t tell they were beginners.

The results were good. The first quarter ended 8-8 with Kang Ha-joon scoring four points. However, the difference in experience showed in the second quarter. The opposing team, Bucheon HIP Basketball Class, had a lot of experience in competitions even though they were in the same second grade, and they steadily accumulated points in the second quarter, and the gap between the two teams grew to 8-16.

Gimpo Koojeonghoe Basketball Class, which tried hard to catch up to the end, changed the atmosphere in the third quarter, but unfortunately lost 11-22.

After the game, the second graders of the Gimpo Kujunghoe Basketball Class, who were playing their first official basketball game, gathered together to reflect on their first basketball game of their lives.

“It was a practice game, but it was the first official basketball game they had ever played, and I think that alone was very meaningful for them. Last year, they were just ‘babies’ jumping rope and hula hooping in the gym, but this year, they were begging to learn basketball, and now they are big enough to play against other teams.” He was proud of the first steps taken by the second graders.

“The second graders didn’t come to our basketball class to learn basketball, they came to us because they needed a place to play, and it’s very exciting to see them become a basketball team. We started teaching them the basics of dribbling, defense, etc. in March this year. I was very worried about them before this game, but when I saw them play, I smiled because they were actually playing basketball,” he said of the second graders’ first game.

After the game, Koo said it was better to laugh when the children gathered together and evaluated the game among themselves, saying, “Those guys are too big,” and “It’s a shame we could have won.”

“The kids kept calling the other team’s players their brothers, so I told them, ‘They’re all second graders, too,’ but after the game, they still said, ‘They’re too big,’ which made me laugh. I thought it was cute that we lost the game and the kids were seriously talking about how we could have won, but I also realized that I have a lot to teach them to get better at basketball. I’ve seen them since they were in elementary school, so I used to think of them as “babies,” but after watching them play yesterday, I changed my mind. Seeing them play so seriously made me realize that I should start coaching them more seriously right away. The parents who came to the game yesterday were also inspired, so we decided to start practicing twice a week from June, and the second graders will start practicing twice a week from next month. I will take more responsibility and try harder to help my children grow well through basketball. I hope you will keep an eye on the growth of the second graders at Gimpo Kujunghoe Basketball Class in the future.”