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Press Releases: 2010

Healthy Hoops Upstate Challenge Scores Big with Area Kids

Participants receive basketball coaching while parents learn ways to control asthma

Shot clocks were ticking as over 200 children, parents, and volunteers gathered for the 2010 Healthy Hoops Upstate Challenge on Saturday, April 24.  Healthy Hoops is designed specifically for children with asthma and included health screenings and assessments courtesy of the South Carolina Asthma Alliance (SCAA).  In addition to health screenings, Greenville-area children participated in expertly coordinated basketball drills including ball handling, shooting, dribbling and passing.

The event, sponsored by Select Health of South Carolina, took place at the Caine Halter Family YMCA and featured coaching from LaCheryl Smith of Southern Wesleyan University and Kristy Ray, ladies Varsity Head Coach at Dorman High School.  Representatives from Keystone Mercy Health Plan (KMHP) also attended the event along with Sonny Hill, Founder and Executive Director of the Sonny Hill Community League and Executive Advisor for Philadelphia 76ers, as well as Speedy Morris, Head Basketball Coach at St. Joseph’s Prep School in Philadelphia, PA.

“We were thrilled to see so many Upstate children and their families participate in the 2010 Healthy Hoops Challenge,” said Terry Davenport, Director of the Community Liaison Department at Select Health.  “Asthma often keeps children sidelined, but with proper treatment asthmatics can enjoy activities and build a foundation for a healthy, energetic lifestyle.”

The Upstate Challenge is just one of the many Healthy Hoops events taking place throughout the year.  The Healthy Hoops program, implemented in South Carolina in 2004, is an initiative that teaches children with asthma and their families how to better manage the disease through appropriate medication usage, proper nutrition, monitored exercise and recreational activities.

The Upstate Challenge was also sponsored by the Caine Halter Family YMCA, the South Carolina Asthma Alliance (SCAA), AmeriHealth Mercy and the Healthy Hoops Coalition, which includes a host of community partners.  For more information on the Healthy Hoops program, visit www.selecthealthofsc.com or call 1-888-HOOPS-SC.