SAN FRANCISCO – Starting off Fleet Week's return to the City by the Bay, Academy of Art Athletics collaborated with the United States Navy, the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco, members of Fleet Week, Dick's Sporting Goods, Paula Hahn (Hahn Associates), and others to present the inaugural "ART U Hoops With The Troops" event. A truly unique concept, the Oct. 4 free basketball clinic was hosted by Urban Knights from the men's and women's basketball teams alongside the USS Rushmore and concluded with a tour of the U.S. Navy dock landing ship.
 
"We are thrilled to extend the Academy of Art University Athletics Department's partnership with Fleet Week through the inaugural 'ART U Hoops with The Troops' event," said Director of Athletics Brad Jones. "This is a long-term collaboration to annually give back to the youth of San Francisco by bringing Fleet Week and the Navy together with our ART U basketball teams, and various youth groups throughout the city of San Francisco."

Originating from a discussion between Fleet Week organizers, Jones, and Academy of Art Vice President of Campus Safety and Lab Resources Michael G. Petricca, "ART U Hoops With The Troops" quickly gained steam with the involvement of the Urban Knights' men's basketball Head Coach Scott Waterman and women's basketball Head Coach Krystle Evans. Strengthening partnerships with the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco and others along the way, the ambitious idea of learning basketball against the backdrop of a warship was a fitting way to open the 40th edition of a week of events that annually celebrate the Bay Area naval tradition while honoring men and women serving in the U.S. armed forces.

"Fleet Week approached Brad, Krystle, and I about putting an event together for the kids, and it was an opportunity that we couldn't pass up," Waterman said. "To be involved with something so special to the City of San Francisco and to give our student-athletes an opportunity to give back to the San Francisco community; that's one thing that I and Coach Evans preach to our players. Thank you to Brad Jones and the Fleet Week crew for putting this all together. It was not easy, we were all in collaboration on how to put this together with moving pieces along the way, but it was awesome to be able to get it done and I think the kids had a great time."

An instrumental part of the setup involved the literal movement of the university's outdoor basketball court down over a mile from 601 Brannan to the pier where the USS Rushmore lay docked. Resilient efforts in the days leading up ultimately allowed ART U student-athletes, Boys & Girls Club youth, and naval officers alike to conveniently descend upon the venue.

"This event involves Academy of Art University with U.S. Navy sailors and Fleet Week, so it's all three organizations coming together to really do something for the kids," said U.S. Navy Chief Mass Communication Specialist John Scorza. "A lot of great things get to happen; the kids get to play basketball with sailors and Division II student-athletes, and then afterwards get to tour a warship. It's a great time."

Prior to the children's arrival, Academy of Art coaches, student-athletes, and staff embraced the opportunity to mingle with the Navy's servicemen and servicewomen. Stories were exchanged and laughter shared as all prepared for the event to begin.

"We discussed the history of Fleet Week as a team in our short practice going into this and just being able to interact with our military representatives here," Evans said. "But being able to interact with them in a clinic fashion where we get to give back to the City of San Francisco's youth while honoring our troops at the same time is just a once-in-a-lifetime type of experience for our women."

After some warmup time, the aspiring basketball players from the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco split up into a series of groups led by Urban Knights. The rotating stations focused on teaching and learning the fundamentals of dribbling, passing, and shooting before ultimately putting all skills into practice during small competitive games.

"Nothing can beat this, playing basketball with the ship in the background, that's insane," said graduate student forward Adrian Byrd-Jelinek. "Just getting an opportunity to work with [the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco], play basketball with them, and see how they're doing is nice. With COVID and everything, it's been nice for them to get out here and play with us."

"We definitely value our community here at ART U and the culture that we have here is amazing so to be able to share that with these kids and just bring everybody together has been a true blessing," said freshman guard Alyssa Munn. "Especially on Fleet Week, the weather is nice and we're out here having fun so it's been great. This is my first time experiencing Fleet Week, so I really feel integrated with the city and with the community.  It's been a real honor to be sharing the space with everyone that's here. I've never been on a ship; first time for everything so I'm really excited."

At the clinic's conclusion, all participants came together for an energizing and appreciative talk then began exclusive tours of the USS Rushmore which has navigated waters for over 30 years.

"We are excited to work with the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco and we will expand this to other youth groups in the future," Jones said. "We are also very grateful to the various donors and partners who assisted such as Dick's Sporting Goods with their donations of basketballs, Paula Hahn (Hahn Associates) for their donation of camp T-shirts, the Olympic Club with their donation of the basketball standards, along with all the manpower and planning to make this inaugural event a special one. We're excited to grow this event as we move ahead in the future."