The Hoops 4 Health Academy is a vibrant basketball-based program tailored for young people aged 10-16, with sessions held weekly at their training facility located in Pinelands. The sessions may look like basketball training, but the initiative extends well beyond fitness to provide opportunities for change.

Sessions are facilitated by First Nations mentors who blend knowledge from their own lived experiences with an evidence based, trauma-informed approach to coaching.

“The rhythmic bounce of a basketball is used to establish movement, pattern and repetition, underpinning a technique that links the brain to healing centred sport,” says Hoops 4 Health Founder and CEO Timmy Duggan OAM.

“Paired with the practice of deep listening, this method of coaching and mentoring has a lasting and positive impact on young people.”

More than 10,000 young people from across the Territory have taken part in and benefited from the Hoops 4 Health Academy since it started five years ago.

“When you see a session, you’ll notice a lot of movement and chaos, which can be representative of how young people are trying to navigate the world as they see it,” Mr Duggan says.

“But when they finish a session, they’ve established positive connections, been given great feedback and leave with a sense of hope.”

Hoops 4 Health Academy sessions encourage the use of strength endurance and a moderate amount of stress to develop resilience and capacity.

Participants are taught to look for positive solutions to situations to make better, more informed decisions and they learn how to regulate, relate and reason.

INPEX is proud to be partnering with Hoops 4 Health Academy to support the delivery of additional sessions for young people over the next 12 months.

“The success of the Hoops 4 Health Academy is undeniable, and we are thrilled our support will help make a difference to the lives of more young people in the community,” says INPEX General Manager Northern Territory Richard Finch.

Mr Duggan says: “We are really grateful to partner with INPEX, nurturing a program here on Larrakia Country.”

For more information about Hoops 4 Health, visit hoops4health.org