English Language Fellow Holly Shelton, together with Fulbright English Teaching Assistant William Shuey, organized a week-long sports mentorship camp at Miras University in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.
Participation in the camp was open, and approximately 50 members of the community joined. The focus of the camp was not just on teaching sports skills, but also to teach participants how to coach and share skills with others. Each day of the camp was split between field training and classroom sessions on the history, rules, and culture of sports.
On one day of the camp, there was a practical mentoring session with students from the U.S. Embassy Access. Shelton and Shuey also hosted a movie night at which they screened “Remember the Titans” followed by a discussion of football culture and American history.
The culmination of the camp was a flag football game for the participants, complete with cheerleaders and a halftime show. The event was widely publicized in the community and well attended. The president of Miras University indicated that he would like to make the camp (and the football game) an annual event.