ROANOKE, Va. – Be consistent, develop, maximize and elevate. That’s the mission of Hoop Love Academy-- an organization offering training, clinics, camps and now a rec league known as Synergy.
“We started in 2019 with our first winter camp,” said Hoop Love Academy founder Mackenzie “Coach Mack” Lewis. “From there we started doing camps and clinics but still wanted to do something getting the kids constantly involved, something that kept them doing something they love to do-- play basketball.”
Lewis said even still the goal was to have a bigger reach beyond just basketball. They started after school classes and that’s where Synergy started.
“Now we’re going into a second year but we’re turning that into a Rec program so they can be on a team and still learn all those things-- basketball and life skills,” said Lewis.
The Synergy season will run for nine months beginning in September but Saturday, Hoop Love Academy held an open run at Contryside Sportsplex. Two dozen kids turned out from the ages of 8-15-- far more than they originally had about a year ago.
“I remember the first class we ever had for Synergy. We had one child that came from the period of 3pm-5pm back in September. Now, we have about 40-50 kids that come to the class,” Lewis said.
Founders Mackenzie Lewis and Stephon Anderson are both former hoop stars from Northside and William Fleming respectively, who later met while attending Old Dominion University together. Their goal? Simply instill the values of commitment and hard work to the youth.
“Just constant development. I think the kids understand that we don’t do anything that’s outside of their ability but we’re asking them to push themselves to the capacity they have to give and also understand that it’s work. They have to work at it. All the NBA and college players they see had to work.”
For more information on Hoop Love Academy, click here. Follow them on Facebook also.