10 & UNDER

InnerCity Players Basketball

"Developing men of substance using
basketball as a motivational vehicle to
prepare kids for the ultimate game of life"

MISSION STATEMENT

“Providing a foundation for student athletes to succeed personally, academically and athletically.”

The Inner City Players Athletics Program was founded by Canaan Chatman in the fall of 1997. The intent of ICP Athletics, is to develop a system that would not only strengthen the physical aspects of a participants game, but more importantly create a balanced environment that will encourage as well as challenge participants to overcome many of life’s ongoing obstacles. Ultimately, “Developing Student Athletes of Substance.

Our programmatic goal is to provide the most competitive athletic environment in order to teach the fundamentals of basketball as well as the fundamentals of life. Most young athletes concentrate on the narrow short term visions that sports provide, missing the larger message of fundamentals, teamwork and persistence, which are transferable to a variety of life experiences.

“Developing Student Athletes of Substance” is the ICP motto, simply stating that all of our participants derive from different backgrounds and have immeasurable barriers in their world everyday, that could easily be used as an excuse to not pursue their dreams but instead our kids use these barriers as reinforced motivation to get over these obstacles in order to get a fresh start in LIFE. Overall character, academic achievement, time management, discipline and health awareness are a few of the major areas that ICP attempts to enhance in each participant.

ICP Athletics holds annual in home visits with each participant and their families to discuss their child’s’ development needs on and off the court. This process also includes setting academic, athletic and social goals to be worked towards during the school year. ICP Athletics functions year round, beginning in the 3RD grade and being case managed through the completion of their senior year of high school. There is a maximum of 10 participants selected each year, through our evaluation period. This evaluation period will consist of academic tutorial sessions, along with physical and mental endurance exercises, geared to determine the level of dedication each participant possesses.

There are over 200 participants in the Inner City Players Athletics Program, carrying a 98% high school completion rate. Of these graduates, 90% have moved on to some form of higher learning by way of academic and/ or athletic scholarship.