Chicago Sky Donates Athletic Apparel to Hyde Park Academy
The Chicago Sky, a professional women's basketball team based in Rosemont, Ill., donated much needed basketball apparel to the Lady Thunderbird girls basketball team at Hyde Park Academy (HPA), 6220 S Stony Island Ave., last month.
The Sky surprised 15 female student athletes with practice jerseys, basketball shoes, shooting sleeves, lower body impact pads, and athletic bras o right before their practice session ended.
“Literally, this was like Christmas morning for my girls; I thought some of them would break into tears as I almost did myself,” said first year coach of the freshman and sophomore Hyde Park Lady Thunderbirds, Calyn Dolan. “This means everything to them for sure and that means everything to me. I was not expecting this at all, to this level and to this degree. I figured we’d get a basketball or two but to literally outfit our girls for practice, it means the absolute world to the culture of this school.”
First year coach Rosette Edinburg, who is also an English teacher at HPA, shared Dolan’s enthusiasm.
“Being the benefactor of the benevolence of the Chicago Sky has been tremendous as far as outfitting them correctly with sports bras, shooting sleeves, shooting shirts, etc.”
The Sky donated the apparel in response to e-mails sent from Dolan requesting any sort of support for her players and program.
“I contacted Erika [Swilley, Director of Community Relations and Operations for the Chicago Sky] and we’ve been e-mailing back and forth for a little bit. I told her about my team and how hard they’ve been working but we haven’t had the appropriate gear. She talked to some people at the Sky and they said they would help us out,” said Dolan.
Dolan, a 12th grade English teacher who played Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball growing up, contacted several local businesses and agencies looking for sponsorship and donations and hoped that the Sky would be one of the businesses to respond.
“I figured the Sky would be the best role model for our girls especially because they’re young females growing up in south Chicago. The Sky embodies what these girls should want to be. They were our first priority and [they] got back to me so quick.”
Donating athletic apparel to HPA's athletic program was a first for the Sky.
“This is the first time I’ve been contacted about a high school team needing the bare basics,” said Swilley, who has been with the team for three years. “I contacted our trainer and she was able to get me some stuff; we put together a package and we figured out how we were going to deliver it to the kids today.”
The Chicago Sky recognizes the impact of their donation and hope that it’s a far reaching one.
“I think this helps bring awareness and shows these girls that even at the highest level they are not forgotten,” said Swilley. “We know that a lot of our players have come from similar situations that they’ve had and that it is important that we help groom them.”
Hyde Park Academy Lady Thunderbird players understand the significance of the donation, too.
“This means a lot because I appreciate what people give me; you don’t get stuff like this too often,” said sophomore starting point guard Christana Simmons.
The Chicago Sky is an Eastern conference Women’s National Association (WNBA) team that was founded in 2005. For more information about the Sky visit http://www.wnba.com/sky/.
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