Full Name: Othman Adil
UC Email: adilon@mail.uc.edu
College: McMicken College of Arts and Sciences
Major: Neuroscience
Title of Project: Assistant Coaching a Mosque Basketball Team
Thematic Area: Leadership
Expected Project Start Date: June 2014
Expected Project End Date: Unknown
Project Information
I bend over with my hands on my knees behind the three-point line,exhausted from pushing the fastbreak, as Abdullah takes his free-throw. The substitution buzzer sounds; I run to the bench and high-five Sohaib as he takes my place. Abdullah makes his first free-throw and misses his second, but we clap regardless. The Dayton Mosque team inbounds the ball as the clock runs down, and the game ends. Our time at the annual Tri-State Islamic Basketball Tournament was over. This hadn't been our first year in the tournament and would definitely not be our last, but the sadness of leaving the tournament early nonetheless upset us all.
Looking back, this past year with my basketball team for the Clifton Mosque of Cincinnati that I helped lead was undoubtedly our most successful year not because of the points we scored or the amount of perfectly executed backdoor screens, but because of the new friends we all made that, sadly, we would have never attempted to associate with outside of the team due to our racial and economic backgrounds. However, regardless of our upbringings or the color of our skin, we all connected under two things: Islam and basketball. With these two uniting factors, the diversity of not only our team, but our mosque began to improve drastically. Friday prayers that were previously attended solely by adults began to draw African-American, Asian, and Caucasian children, the majority of which had interest in playing for our basketball team, even though they had no prior experience playing.
As one of the team leaders, I have strived to not only coach these children on the game of basketball, but to help overcome racial barriers to friendship. Every child that joins our team becomes cemented in our brotherly bond and whether consciously or unconsciously, begins to open his mind to the diversity that surrounds him. This upcoming summer, we will continue to push ourselves as an ethnically open-minded group of friends to dominate the Tri-State Islamic Basketball Tournament; hopefully this year Abdullah has worked on his free-throws.
However, after this summer, I will no longer be eligible to participate in the tournament. This is where my Honors experience comes in. Despite being too old to play, I plan on continuing my position as a leader on the team by assistant coaching the team. The younger children have always looked to me for leadership, except after this year, they will be looking to the sidelines instead of on the court for guidance.
2. Connection to Learning Outcomes within the Honors Thematic Area
a. Has the ability to relate, communicate and work effectively with peers
- By coaching any team sport, basketball or not, it is crucial to work effectively with your fellow assistant coaches and players. When holding practices, I plan on explicitly explaining every play, drill, and workout as well as its purpose towards our success.
b. Develops a vision of the future and acknowledges the impact of decisions (as applicable to the individual and affiliated organizations)
- Before going into coaching the team, I will play my final year in the tournament. During this tournament, I will make sure to pay attention to my teammates'
tendencies on the court so I can develop some sort of vision of how to improve each player's skills. Also, being a player, I have noticed the stress on our coach's mind due to him knowing the impact of his decisions. As an assistant coach, I will also have to acknowledge the impact of any decision I make regarding the team, both the pros and cons.
3. Connection to Goals and Academic Theories
My personal goals with this honors experience include improving my leadership skills, creating an environment in which kids can feel at ease and have fun while building friendships, and teaching a sport which has brought fun to countless lives. Hopefully through this coaching, I will be able to fulfill all of these goals while having fun myself. In order to prepare myself for this huge leadership position, I plan on partaking in LeaderShape and becoming an SI for Chemistry. LeaderShape is an incredible opportunity to interact with other students and learn key elements of being a leader, such as reflecting, planning, reacting to group feedback, and learning/teaching in a group setting. Becoming an SI will help me practice the skills I gain from LeaderShape, preparing myself for coaching my basketball team.
4. Initiative, Independence, and/or Creativity My unique contribution to this project is the fact that I have played on the team for 4 years, so I can speak to the other players from first-hand experience. Speaking from that point of view that would allow me to communicate better with the players; if they've played with me before, they would give me more respect as a coach since I have ran every suicide and every play that they would be running, as opposed to if the players were being coached by someone that has never endured the struggle that they have.
5. Reflection
The reflection step is pivotal with this experience; after every day of practice I have to sit down with the head coach and we have to ask ourselves: What did we execute well today as a team? What could we improve on next time? Who worked the hardest today? Do they have potential to be a leader? Furthermore, we could record a few of our games and practices on video and reflect on the impact of our decisions through visual means.
6. Dissemination
I have an idea of hosting a dinner with the head coach after each tournament and inviting the players as well as their families. During this dinner, I want to speak to the families and tell them as well as show them on film how much we have grown as a team. The families of the players are such an important audience because I am teaching their children valuable lessons and I want them to see the evolution in the kids as athletes and as people.
7. Project Advisor
My advisor for this project will be the current head coach of our team, Coach Abdul Ahad.
Abdul Ahad
Head Coach of Clifton Mosque Basketball Team
Phone Number: 937-397-4196
8. Budget (not applicable)
UC Email: adilon@mail.uc.edu
College: McMicken College of Arts and Sciences
Major: Neuroscience
Title of Project: Assistant Coaching a Mosque Basketball Team
Thematic Area: Leadership
Expected Project Start Date: June 2014
Expected Project End Date: Unknown
Project Information
I bend over with my hands on my knees behind the three-point line,exhausted from pushing the fastbreak, as Abdullah takes his free-throw. The substitution buzzer sounds; I run to the bench and high-five Sohaib as he takes my place. Abdullah makes his first free-throw and misses his second, but we clap regardless. The Dayton Mosque team inbounds the ball as the clock runs down, and the game ends. Our time at the annual Tri-State Islamic Basketball Tournament was over. This hadn't been our first year in the tournament and would definitely not be our last, but the sadness of leaving the tournament early nonetheless upset us all.
Looking back, this past year with my basketball team for the Clifton Mosque of Cincinnati that I helped lead was undoubtedly our most successful year not because of the points we scored or the amount of perfectly executed backdoor screens, but because of the new friends we all made that, sadly, we would have never attempted to associate with outside of the team due to our racial and economic backgrounds. However, regardless of our upbringings or the color of our skin, we all connected under two things: Islam and basketball. With these two uniting factors, the diversity of not only our team, but our mosque began to improve drastically. Friday prayers that were previously attended solely by adults began to draw African-American, Asian, and Caucasian children, the majority of which had interest in playing for our basketball team, even though they had no prior experience playing.
As one of the team leaders, I have strived to not only coach these children on the game of basketball, but to help overcome racial barriers to friendship. Every child that joins our team becomes cemented in our brotherly bond and whether consciously or unconsciously, begins to open his mind to the diversity that surrounds him. This upcoming summer, we will continue to push ourselves as an ethnically open-minded group of friends to dominate the Tri-State Islamic Basketball Tournament; hopefully this year Abdullah has worked on his free-throws.
However, after this summer, I will no longer be eligible to participate in the tournament. This is where my Honors experience comes in. Despite being too old to play, I plan on continuing my position as a leader on the team by assistant coaching the team. The younger children have always looked to me for leadership, except after this year, they will be looking to the sidelines instead of on the court for guidance.
2. Connection to Learning Outcomes within the Honors Thematic Area
a. Has the ability to relate, communicate and work effectively with peers
- By coaching any team sport, basketball or not, it is crucial to work effectively with your fellow assistant coaches and players. When holding practices, I plan on explicitly explaining every play, drill, and workout as well as its purpose towards our success.
b. Develops a vision of the future and acknowledges the impact of decisions (as applicable to the individual and affiliated organizations)
- Before going into coaching the team, I will play my final year in the tournament. During this tournament, I will make sure to pay attention to my teammates'
tendencies on the court so I can develop some sort of vision of how to improve each player's skills. Also, being a player, I have noticed the stress on our coach's mind due to him knowing the impact of his decisions. As an assistant coach, I will also have to acknowledge the impact of any decision I make regarding the team, both the pros and cons.
3. Connection to Goals and Academic Theories
My personal goals with this honors experience include improving my leadership skills, creating an environment in which kids can feel at ease and have fun while building friendships, and teaching a sport which has brought fun to countless lives. Hopefully through this coaching, I will be able to fulfill all of these goals while having fun myself. In order to prepare myself for this huge leadership position, I plan on partaking in LeaderShape and becoming an SI for Chemistry. LeaderShape is an incredible opportunity to interact with other students and learn key elements of being a leader, such as reflecting, planning, reacting to group feedback, and learning/teaching in a group setting. Becoming an SI will help me practice the skills I gain from LeaderShape, preparing myself for coaching my basketball team.
4. Initiative, Independence, and/or Creativity My unique contribution to this project is the fact that I have played on the team for 4 years, so I can speak to the other players from first-hand experience. Speaking from that point of view that would allow me to communicate better with the players; if they've played with me before, they would give me more respect as a coach since I have ran every suicide and every play that they would be running, as opposed to if the players were being coached by someone that has never endured the struggle that they have.
5. Reflection
The reflection step is pivotal with this experience; after every day of practice I have to sit down with the head coach and we have to ask ourselves: What did we execute well today as a team? What could we improve on next time? Who worked the hardest today? Do they have potential to be a leader? Furthermore, we could record a few of our games and practices on video and reflect on the impact of our decisions through visual means.
6. Dissemination
I have an idea of hosting a dinner with the head coach after each tournament and inviting the players as well as their families. During this dinner, I want to speak to the families and tell them as well as show them on film how much we have grown as a team. The families of the players are such an important audience because I am teaching their children valuable lessons and I want them to see the evolution in the kids as athletes and as people.
7. Project Advisor
My advisor for this project will be the current head coach of our team, Coach Abdul Ahad.
Abdul Ahad
Head Coach of Clifton Mosque Basketball Team
Phone Number: 937-397-4196
8. Budget (not applicable)
