ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks Baseball Academy is empowering young female athletes this summer.
The basketball academy opened up its doors to more than 75 female athletes at its inaugural Lady Ballers Summer Hoop Fest, presented by Gatorade.
The summer camp is part of the 2022 Jr. Hawks Summer Camps and was created to help young girls "develop a lifelong passion for the game through positive engagements with female role models and coaches."
During the four-day summer camp, girls ages eight through 15 were able to meet special guest speakers, such as former Atlanta Dream guard Matee Ajavon, former Hawks guard Salim Stoudamire and Atlanta Dream Assistant General Manager Darius Taylor.
Each Lady Ballers Summer Hoop Fest session was designed to empower and inspire the young athletes by depicting the various avenues and life lessons sports can provide.
Camp attendees were also able to meet special guests, Atlanta Dream Events Activations Manager Jada Coggins; Atlanta Dream Director of Human Resources Dominique Wallace; Laureus Sport for Good USA Director of Marketing and Partnerships Rachelle Patel; and Hawks Senior Manager in Brand Experience and Activation KK Salmonsen.
"We were thrilled to partner with Gatorade for our first Lady Ballers Summer Hoop Fest on an impactful week of development, competition, empowerment, and, of course, fun,” said Hawks’ Vice President of Basketball Development Jon Babul. “It was inspiring to hear from talented leaders in the industry who discussed the values of the game and educated the girls on numerous opportunities that sports can provide.”
Atlanta Dream players Naz Hillmon, Rhyne Howard, and Aari McDonald surprised the girls and spoke about their journey in sports as female athletes during the camp.
The young athletes also took part in training for overall development as well as competitive play under the direction of Hawks Basketball Development coaches. They were also given the opportunity to interact with current and former Hawks players.
The Hawks Foundation and Gatorade provided scholarship opportunities for campers in attendance as part of Gatorade’s Fuel Tomorrow initiative.
To learn more about this event click here.