ABIDJAN (Cote d’Ivoire) -Senegal women’s basketball veteran Fatou Kine Ndiaye has predicted continued growth in African women’s basketball as more coaches’ and players’ clinics are rolled out across the continent.

She was speaking during a youth coaches’ clinic run by University of Connecticut’s assistant coach Jamelle Elliott, on the sidelines of the 2025 Women’s AfroBasket in Abidjan.

Ndiaye who represented Senegal in the continental showpiece in her playing days believes FIBA’s consistency in running such clinics during each Women’s AfroBasket edition has contributed to the growth being witnessed in the women’s game.

“I can see the evolution of African basketball and it keeps evolving for the better. Basketball nations like South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda among others are challenging the powerhouses as has been witnessed in the recent AfroBasket editions. There are no favourites. .

Ordinarily, it means that the countries are working, that the level is developing gradually, not just at the continental level, but at the global level too.

Coaching clinics, like FIBA’s initiative and the efforts of individual federations have helped women’s basketball grow as more players are getting the skills necessary to bridge the gap between Africa and other continents,” Ndiaye told FIBA.basketball.

Ndiaye was part of a contingent of over 40 coaches who attended coach Elliott’s session, her second in Abidjan after a first event that had over 50 participants drawn from Cote d’Ivoire’s top three leagues and the Women’s AfroBasket team’s tacticians.

She continued, “From performances in the Women’s U19 World Cup where Mali have reached the Semis, to Nigeria D’Tigresses’ historic feat at the Paris Olympics where they became the first African team to reach the basketball quarters at the Summer Games, Africa has made very good impressions globally and with more investments, we can compete at the same level with the rest.”

Her recommendations to keep the momentum going include spotting talents early through such clinics and training camps, organised leagues and follow ups.

“What we can do is precisely continue to work at federation level and develop women’s basketball from the local leagues. This would include early exposure for players, to the game and to better leagues, as well as following the progress of said players and maintaining professionalism at all levels,” she concluded.

On her part, Elliott, who has handled several African talents in her vast coaching tenures with the University of Connecticut and the University of Cincinnati women’s basketball teams, says Africa has the talent and physique, insisting that getting the basics right is key for the continent to catch up with the rest of the world.

FIBA

A record 29 teams and just shy of 200 kids competed in the annual RiverView Health Youth Dodgeball tournament on Wednesday evening at the Ray Ecklund Complex tennis courts.

The winners of each age group are below-
15U – East Grand Forks Elite (Cashton McGlynn, Evan Van Eps, Darion Hall, Will Larson, Adam Farder, and Nick Satterlund)
12U – The Nukes (Ryken Dufault, Brody Michaelson, Jett Page, Francis Robertson, Otto Erdmann, Kamden Lessard, and Corbin Callier)
10U – Ball Blasters (Bexley Rye, Mason Evitts, Zander Quirk, Lyvia Hong, Sutton Kukowski, Deeken Solheim, and Annie Kollin)
8U – Dodge Thunder (Carter Gudvangen, Parker Johnstad, Griffin Pemberton, Beau Gasper, Cass Hanson, and Lazryk Normandin)

KROX has over 60 pictures in the gallery below.

Tags: dodgeball tournament, news, Ox Cart Days, Riverview Health, sports

Registration ends soon for Marble Falls Parks and Recreation 2025 fall youth sports leagues. Families can sign up online for flag football, soccer, baseball, softball, and volleyball.

FLAG FOOTBALL

Ages: 5-12

Registration deadline: Friday, Aug. 15

Cost: $75 for residents; $85 for non-residents

The 5v5 flag football league is open to children ages 5-12 of all skill levels and experience. The eight games will be played on Sunday afternoons through November in Marble Falls and Burnet. Teams will hold two one-hour practices a week.

SOCCER

Ages: 3-12

Registration deadline: Friday, Aug. 15

Cost: $75 for residents; $85 for non-residents

The soccer league is open to children ages 3-12 of all skill levels and experience. The eight games will be played on Saturdays from Sept. 6 through Oct. 25. Teams will hold two one-hour practices a week.

BASEBALL/SOFTBALL

Ages: 7-14

Registration deadline: Saturday, Aug. 16

Cost: $75 for residents; $85 for non-residents

The baseball/softball league is open to children ages 7-14 of all skill levels and experience. Practices start the week of Sept. 8; games begin Sept. 20. Game days depend on the number of teams in each division. Teams might schedule contests with squads from nearby cities. 

VOLLEYBALL

Ages: 7-12

Registration deadline: Aug. 31

Cost: $75 for residents

The volleyball league is open to children ages 7-12 of all skill levels and experience. Practices and the eight games will take place at Marble Falls Middle School. Games begin Sept. 20 and will be played on Saturdays through November. Teams will hold two one-hour practices a week.

PARENT TRAINING

For a child to participate in a league, at least one adult family member must complete Parent Training by the National Alliance for Youth Sports. The cost is $5 for the online training, which covers safety, concussions, hydration, being a model sports parent, and child abuse prevention. Sessions run through Sept. 21.

COACHES

Parents/family members may also sign up as a volunteer coach. Find more information under each league’s webpage at the links above.

editor@thepicayune.com

hoto by Derek Redd
The Wheeling YMCA presented longtime Ohio Valley basketball coach Gene Ammirante with the Dr. Lee Jones Patron of youth Award at its annual Light of the Valley luncheon, which raised $68,800 for the Y. Pictured from left, Lindsay Ammirante, YMCA Evecutive Director Adam Shinsky, YMCA Board of Directors President Jamie Bordas, Ammirante, former NFL star Joey Galloway and the Rev. Kevin Roseberry.

Longtime Ohio Valley basketball coach Gene Ammirante said Wednesday that, when it came to the success he’s enjoyed over his years in the sport “it’s not about the plays, it’s about the players.” The people who he has worked with over the decades have been the catalyst for those triumphs.

So as he accepted the 2025 Dr. Lee Jones Patron of Youth Award for his career’s work in mentoring the region’s youth, he made sure to credit those who have helped him along the way.

“This award is more of a testament to the people who raised me and that I’ve been blessed to be surrounded with my whole life,” Ammirante said before a packed Wheeling Park White Palace ballroom at the annual Wheeling YMCA Light of the Valley luncheon.

The Dr. Lee Jones Patron of Youth Award is given annually to an Ohio Valley resident who has gone above and beyond in the care and mentorship of the region’s youth. Previous winners include H. Lawrence Jones, Bishop Darrell Cummings, Dr. Dan Joseph, Bob Nutting and Randy Worls.

Ammirante garnered a mile-long list of accolades throughout his coaching career. As Bellaire High School’s boys basketball coach from 1981-2011, he compiled 471 career wins, a 70% winning percentage, 14 Ohio Valley Athletic Conference championships, 14 sectional titles, six district titles and a regional title that put Bellaire into the 2004 Ohio state semifinals. He also worked with the Wheeling Recreation Department following his retirement and is now an assistant coach for the Wheeling Park High boys basketball team.

Yet much more important to him than the trophies were the relationships he has built over the decades.

He remembered when former Bellaire multisport star and NFL standout Joey Galloway — who was the guest speaker at Wednesday’s luncheon – gifted him a Cadillac. He loved the car, but he loved the card Galloway gave him so much more.

“It was the card, not the car that shined the most light, and I’ve kept it in safe keeping all these years,” Ammirante said. “Joey’s kind words in that card shine as long as I can rerun them.”

He said he was blessed to coach some great athletes in his time, but some of the most important players were ones who never reached that ultimate spotlight. He spoke of one, a three-year starter and a member of that 2004 team who didn’t finish his senior season. He was dismissed for violating team rules.

But that player sought out Ammirante at the YMCA years later to thank him.

“He said, ‘When you dismissed me from the team in 2005, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. It actually helped me grow up,’” Ammirante said.

Ammirante thanked many people who helped him on his way, from his parents Jerry and Josephine, who “didn’t know a basketball from a pumpkin,” but showed him what hard work and dedication were, to his children Jerry and Lindsay, to his best friend Tom Bechtel, himself the 2022 Patron of Youth Award winner, to a list of mentors and friends in basketball and education.

Lindsay Ammirante, who introduced her father Wednesday, talked about his devotion to his family that has never wavered through the years. When his wife Pam died in 2017, he had her wedding band and his melded together so he could wear both every day.

“I may be biased, but I know of no one more deserving of an award like this than him,” she said.

Galloway echoed those sentiments, saying Ammirante cared for the kids he coached just as much. Galloway now coaches youth sports, too, and uses the tenets Ammirante has championed all these years.

“Our goal should be to make sure that kid wants to play again next year,” Galloway said. “And that’s what Coach A did for us.”

Proceeds from the luncheon went to the Wheeling YMCA, which is in the middle of a major renovation, adding space and improving other existing spaces. YMCA Board of Directors President Jamie Bordas presented YMCA Executive Director Adam Shinsky with a check for $68,800.