Pachaj

Chanae, Imani, Jerren, Jerrod, Jordyn, Malik

This is my [Imani] second year at Pachaj, this year Pachaj has been very interesting. The girls and boys at camp come to greet us. Even some of the teachers stay and watch the kids play. Sometimes they even give us water. It surprises me how patient the kids can be.

To get to Pachaj, we have to take a microbus to the Rotunda and then a school bus to Pachaj. We arrive at camp at 3:30 and leave at 5 p.m. There is 6 people at Pachaj. There’s Chanae, Jerrod, Jordyn, Jerren, Malik and I (Imani).

Every year the girls and boys have to be cut, we don’t like to cut anyone in the 6th grade because it will be their last chance to play if they don’t get a scholarship.

There’s a lot of 6th graders in our camp this year, about 13 so we had to cut the girls down 3 so we would just have 10. Lately we have been teaching the boys and girls how to dribble, pass and use defense.

When we get the chance we talk to the kids about there life outside of basketball. Talking to one of the girls I found out that her father lives in the United States. I found this different because parents are willing to go to the states to provide better for their family back in Guatemala.

Yesterday, the girls played against the boys we went into overtime with two on both sides. Unfortunately the boys won but today there will be a rematch hopefully this time we’ll win.

We have a tournament with other camps soon. We won the tournament last year and we to reign supreme again. In Pachaj we teach and play together as a team. Jerrod, Malik and Jerren work on the boys while Jordyn, Chanae and myself work on the girls. Chanae and Malik are here for the first time, they came with an open mind ready to experience something new and different.

Even though it’s me, Jerren and Jerrod’s second year. It’s also Jordyn’s third year we all came ready to re-experience camp at Pachaj again. Well, we gotta get ready for this tournament. Til next time. GO PACHAJ!