Jr. Storm Program Will Expand with Bing's Sponsorship
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Follow the Storm on Twitter for More NewsKevin Pelton, stormbasketball.com | April 21, 2010
While the most visible result of the partnership between the Seattle Storm and Bing, announced Wednesday, will be the Bing logo appearing on the Storm's jerseys, the most meaningful impact will take place elsewhere. The agreement includes Bing becoming the presenting sponsor of the Jr. Storm youth basketball program, which will expand thanks to Bing's support.
"We're going to announce a Jr. Storm tour in which we're going to put on free clinics at every King County Boys & Girls Club this summer," said Storm CEO Karen Bryant. "We're going to host traveling practices, so for the first time actually taking our official practices out into the community. We're going to conduct free coaches clinics. Some of this we've done before, but never to the scale we're going to do this summer, and we hope the program continues to grow each year."
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Over the offseason, the Storm emphasized the Jr. Storm initiative. Head Coach 
Brian Agler has conducted multiple clinics during his winter visits to Seattle. Now, the Storm will have the opportunity to do more in supporting local kids learning about the game.
"This gives us that extra firepower behind it," said Chauntelle Johnson, who coordinates the Jr. Storm program. "Everything we've been doing the last eight or nine months, we can not only continue to do but do it bigger and better with such a big partner behind it."
By holding the press conference announcing the partnership with Bing at the Rainier Vista Boys & Girls Club, the Storm offered a reminder of the importance of the Jr. Storm initiative. The Jr. Storm Tour presented by Bing will kick off at the Rainier Vista location before ultimately visiting every King County Boys & Girls Club. At these free clinics, youngsters will learn the fundamentals of basketball from Storm coaches and players who have pursued the game to its highest level.
"We're able to go to those kids and take basketball to them and show them things they can do on their own," explained Johnson. "A lot of the things we do in the clinic are not only things they can do with a hoop but things they can do with just a basketball.
"I'll ask the kids during clinics, 'How many of you guys have basketballs?' and everybody will raise their hand. Then I'll ask them, 'How many of guys have a hoop?' and half of them will raise their hands. A lot of what we show them to do has to do with dribbling, getting a feel for the basketball and helping them become more confident and better players so they continue to play as they get older."
Of course, the importance of Jr. Storm goes far beyond learning how to dribble and shoot. Storm players are role models for kids who hope to someday follow them to the NBA or WNBA.
"Jr. Storm is an opportunity for us to not only provide some fundamental skills and coaching for young players to continue to keep them excited about the game," Bryant said, "but equally importantly to put our players in front of those young athletes to continue to be an inspiration and a role model to them. That's what's so great about this program - it's really about building about basketball skills, but more importantly building life skills. All of our players have very relevant stories to share that young people can learn from. That's still one of my favorite things of what this organization is all about - symbolizing and reinforcing the power of aspiration and inspiration."
Bryant knows from experience the difference that can make, especially for young girls. Growing up in the Seattle area, her basketball heroes were Julius "Dr. J" Erving and David Thompson. Though she knew women could play college basketball, as she eventually did at the University of Washington, the concept of professional female players was a foreign one.
"That was a real message to me as a young girl, however subconscious, that there was a limit in how far I could go," she said. "The WNBA symbolizes that the same opportunities that are there for men are now there for women too."
While youngsters may not yet be thinking in those terms, they do know that they're excited to see WNBA players in person.
"They love it," Johnson said of the reaction she sees. "It's a big deal. These are the same people they see on TV or at a game, and you've brought these people in front of them. It kind of makes this thing that seems like it's so far away real."
Reactions like that are what make the Storm excited to bring the Jr. Storm program to more local youngsters. Bing has shown during the process of crafting this partnership that it shares that same commitment to the community and to Jr. Storm.
"We have always talked about community participation and particularly youth basketball being an important initiative for us," said Bryant. "It's an investment in our community, but also an investment in building our fan base. To have Bing come on board and make the financial investment they're making and, equally importantly, show a willingness to partner with us on our Jr. Storm program was a real win-win for our organization and for them."
