Colchester: 170 kids take part in Ballin' with Bobby

This summer we teamed up once again with the University of Essex to deliver our successful ‘Ballin’ with a Bobby’ project for a 4th year.

The project brings together the Essex Rebels, the University’s professional basketball team, and officers from Colchester’s Community Policing Team, who visited nine local outdoor basketball courts to play and engage with young people.

During these sessions, Essex Rebels coaches lead the activities, while the police officers participate, building relationships with young people and discussing issues affecting them and their communities.

The young participants are encouraged to keep practicing the skills they've learned and to nurture their newfound passion for basketball, inspired by the coaches and players.

Over this summer the team have reached around 170 young people where they have come together to play basketball, meet professional players and break down barriers with local police officers and learn about a range of community safety topics.

After receiving funding from Active Essex, this year's project was finalised with a tournament-style event at the state-of-the-art Essex Sport Arena, which was attended by over 100 children from both primary and secondary schools aged children.

In addition to the competitive basketball games, where players of all skill levels were welcomed and placed into balanced teams, participants took part in various activities focused on safety and awareness.

These included "stranger danger" sessions for primary school children and discussions on knife crime, violence, stop and search, and crime types with associated penalties for secondary school students. Every participant left with a free packed lunch and a participation award, ensuring they felt valued throughout the day.

Both Essex Rebels and Essex Police manage to ensure there is no cost to the children’s families for these events and ensure they are inclusive of all as they look to bring together the professional players of the rebels, the local policing team and the community through the power of sport.

An unnamed attendees said:

• "This is such a great community initiative, we had a great time. I must say the videos and activities got the rest of the family talking too."
• "My son had a really fantastic time. I personally thought the awards and lunch boxes was a really lovely way to finish the session".
• "It was amazing, I can’t thank you enough for putting on this opportunity for these children and, especially accommodating for my child’s additional needs".

PC Dex Adams who initiated the project 4 years ago said:

"Ballin with a Bobby has grown year after year and to finalise this summers activity with the tournament was a great achievement.

"To bring over 100 children from the area together, to play in one of the best facilities in the country and get to know the players they can watch play on a weekend, is really inspiring for them.

"It is a great opportunity to talk about topics such as knife crime and stop and search in a controlled and respectable environment while teaching and encouraging healthy habits and divert young people away from negative behaviours.

"It also allows young people to see that we are human too, and we enjoy the same activities as they do and build positive relationships with them through our shared interests, leading to an increase in trust and confidence in their local officers. The funding from Active Essex helped ensure all of our activity over the summer can be run without a cost to the parents keeping it inclusive for everybody."

Jennifer Stanhope, Sports Development Officer at the University, said:

"It's events like these that make all the hard work worthwhile, seeing the children connect, building their confidence, and developing a sense of belonging through sport is incredibly rewarding.

"Watching the children grow not just a player, but as individuals who feels supported and valued by their community, is what make this initiative so special.

"I’m also immensely proud of the player-coaches- Cam, Ben, Megan, Jordan, and Tyreese, who dedicated their time and expertise to inspire the next generation and deeply appreciate the support from the Essex Police officers, yet again, for their commitment in which has been a key success for this program.

"A big thank you to Active Essex for their generous contribution in making this possible and cannot wait to see what the future holds."

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