The Pete and Jameer Nelson Foundation views athletics as more than just a competition with a winning and losing side. To us, athletics are about developing life skills that will carry individuals through their life and lead to success in any venture they choose. Athletic competition provides a tremendous opportunity to teach youth about traits such as work ethic, leadership, teamwork, a positive attitude, and being a high-character player and person. Rather than simply teaching the sport-specific skills needed to become a high-level athlete, we also work to teach about the importance of those traits so that long after our participants are done playing sports, they will still have these traits ingrained in them.
As the leader of our Foundation, Jameer Nelson embodies what it means to be a great athlete and person. As a 13-year NBA veteran, Jameer has showcased not only his athletic skill at the highest level, but he has demonstrated his ability to be a high-character leader who plays the game the right way. Our goal through athletic enhancement is to offer high-level athletic coaching that is accompanied by the teaching and development of intangible life skills that will make our participants great leaders and community members in the future. So of our most recent athletic events and programs include the following:
Team Nelson
Team Nelson was an AAU basketball team sponsored by the Pete and Jameer Nelson Foundation. The team played in many tournaments and showcases across the country as a way to gain players exposure to coaches they otherwise would not have access to. The Foundation was responsible for handling travel, hotels, vans, and flights among other logistics.
Team Nelson was designed and carried out to offer opportunities of high-level competition and exposure to student-athletes in the Chester area. By competing in various tournaments and showcases across the country, participants were able to showcase their abilities in front of countless coaches and scouts from schools and universities across the country. Along with offering these playing opportunities, the Foundation contributed to the development of participants off the court by monitoring academic performance and offering tutoring and instructional services.
2016 Summer Basketball Academy
In conjunction with Neumann University, the Pete and Jameer Nelson Foundation hosted the first every “Summer Basketball Academy” in 2016. This program was designed to offer athletic enhancement as well as leadership and mental training development. We had a group of around 60 participants, all between 4th and 8th grade, and held clinics spanning eight Wednesday’s in the summer. These clinics were designed to teach fundamental basketball skills to our participants as well as teach the importance of leadership by incentivizing participants to step up and become leaders.
Philadelphia 76ers Games
Throughout his career, Jameer has come to Philadelphia to play the 76ers and that has offered the Foundation a great opportunity to provide children and their parents tickets to see the game live. Along with watching the game, we’ve offered our groups opportunities to surround the tunnel to high-five players as they entered the court, play a scrimmage on the court after the game ended, and participate in meet-and-greets with players. This is an event we hope to continue for as long as Jameer is in the league and playing against Philadelphia.
2015 Baseball Clinic
Though basketball is a fixture of the Pete and Jameer Nelson Foundation’s vision, branching into other sports and activities allows us an opportunity to make more of an impact. In the summer of 2015, the Foundation hosted the Chester High School Baseball team to take part in a comprehensive baseball clinic that included fundamental skill training and development, team-building exercises, and a seminar designed to provide knowledge and guidance regarding being NCAA eligible from an academic and athletic standpoint.