Travels to Philippines for Clinics with Hundreds of Youths

St. Francis Women’s Basketball Assistant Coach Sue Wicks spent her summer vacation on an amazing experience as an International Envoy for the NBA helping to conduct basketball clinics for hundreds of youths across the Philippines. Wicks was part of SportsUnited, a program run by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs with the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

“During the trip, we conducted clinics, visited schools and spoke to youth about the importance of education, positive health practices and respect for diversity,” Wicks wrote in a blog entry about the trip. “The goal of the program is to bring people together through sports while encouraging the development of basketball on a grassroots level.”

Wicks was part of a team that included Filipino-American Erik Spoelstra, the Head Coach of the Miami Heat as well as his Assistant Coach Dave Fizdale. The trio conducted clinics in the cities of Zamboanga and Manila with children as young as 8 and including members of the Philippines National Team.

“The Philippine people have a passion for basketball and a knowledge of the league that would put many beat writers and a few General Managers in the League to shame,” adds Wicks.

Click to read Wicks’ full post.

You can read more from Sue and about the rest of the trip on the U.S. Department of State website.

Wicks joined the St. Francis College Coaching Staff in 2006 and is entering her fourth season under Head Coach Brenda Milano. She is a former WNBA all-star who played with the New York Liberty in their inaugural season in 1997 until she retired in 2002. Before the founding of the WNBA, Wicks played professionally for more than 15 years in Italy, Japan, Spain and Israel. She is a former Naismith Player of the Year Award winner and former Assistant Basketball Coach at Rutgers University.

St. Francis College, founded in 1859 by the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, is located in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. Since its founding, the College has pursued its Franciscan mission to provide an affordable, high-quality education to students from New York City’s five boroughs and beyond.
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