SAN PABLO, Calif. – Sharing knowledge, skills, and their friendly nature with the local community, Academy of Art women's basketball recently held a clinic with the youth of Caliber Beta Academy.

Based in cities northeast of San Francisco, Caliber Beta Academy functions as part of an overarching Caliber Public Schools system, a group of public K-8 charter schools whose mission is to achieve educational equity by shifting the experiences, expectations, and outcomes for students in historically underserved communities.
  
"Thank you to Academy of Art for coming out," said Caliber Beta Academy Athletics Director Mariah Miller. "Only a handful of our kids get the opportunity to go to a college campus so having players come here, work with them doing drills, and get the understanding of what it takes to be a college athlete is an opportunity I'm happy for them to have. Especially with the two girls we have on our teams; they might not show it, but they are just ecstatic to be able to see people who look like them. They're watching women's basketball players on TV and, now seeing them in person, it's a great experience for them."

Working with more than 20 students from Caliber Beta Academy's after-school program, the Urban Knights spent the afternoon imparting some of the training practices they do on a daily basis.

"Participating in events like this are incredibly beneficial for our program," said Academy of Art Head Coach Jesse Clark. "We are so lucky to be a part of such a wonderful community here in the Bay Area and to be able to give back to the community that gives us so much is a privilege."

Stations focused on dribbling, passing, and shooting guided the youth toward improving their fundamentals of the game.

"I feel like we did a good job," said junior forward/center Christy Ojide. "There were a lot of kids and they were following the rules and having fun with each station. They were able to cooperate and learn some basketball."

"It's always great to be here and I love giving back to my community," said graduate student guard Emilia Dougherty. "Especially as a native of San Francisco, being able to give back to whatever part of the Bay Area always feels good. Growing up I've always had mentors and people in college to teach me how to play basketball so to be able to reciprocate that back into my community feels good."

After concluding its 2023-24 season last month, Academy of Art women's basketball is currently preparing for the coming year.