Tamika Catchings a Fever basketball player also heads a foundation for youth called Tamika Catchings Catch The Stars Foundation.

When Tamika Catchings was a kid, she did not show any signs of becoming an international basketball superstar.

She was a girl with a speech impediment, hearing aids and braces. Children teased her, and she’d often come home crying, frustrated with school and life.

“My parents were always the ones that wiped my tears away and pushed me back out there and said they weren’t going to let me give up,” she says. And she listened to them.

“I do know that having a hearing disability has made me a stronger person and also given me a stronger work ethic. I had to listen that much harder in class to make sure that I stayed on top of my grades. I had to sit in front of the class and read lips at times. That same intensity and focus pours over into my basketball career.”

Following her parents’ example, Catchings now uses the same nurturing spirit as she works with the youth of Indianapolis.

Along with her sister and best friend, Tauja, Catchings runs a basketball camp and a youth mentoring program that is part of the Tamika Catchings Catch The Stars Foundation.

The 2004 Olympic Gold winner has always had a strong passion to support kids because she understands how important positive experiences are at an early age.

“So much of what you experience during your youth shapes you into the person you’ll become. I hope to encourage and inspire our youth to be solid role models and successful people,” says Catchings, 28, who hopes to get her second gold medal in Beijing this month.

Taleb Fazle, 14, who dreams of becoming a rock star, learned perseverance to achieve his dreams through Catchings’ program.

“We were taught life lessons that we could carry out, and at the end of the program, we would go downstairs and have a physical activity,” Taleb says.

Catchings learned the importance of community involvement from family.

“The biggest reason that I’ve been so interested in giving back is my dad,” said Catchings, who graduated from Duncanville High School in Texas and the University of Tennessee. “My dad played in the NBA, and I can remember a lot of times we did a lot of different community appearances with him.”

Her father, Harvey, played in the NBA for 11 years. Her foundation’s mission is “to motivate youth to achieve their goals and dreams through academic camps, basketball camps, and mentoring programs.”

One program, CHAMPS, is an eight-week mentoring program for young boys. Its counterpart, the STARS program, is for young girls. Both programs strive to build character, emphasizing self-esteem, financial responsibility and decision-making skills. These programs, for youth ages 12 to 16, provide peer tutoring and academic support.

Both Taleb and his sister Trilliah participated in Catchings’ programs.

“To be honest, at first I wasn’t very interested at all in the mentoring program,” says Trilliah, 13. “My mama told me it was a way for me to get better personally and physically, so I did it.

“In the long run, after the mentoring program was over, it actually benefited me because I learned stuff I never knew and honestly if someone was to ask me, ‘Would it be good for them?’ I would say, ‘Yeah.”

Trilliah says the program led by Tauja incorporates the stories of prominent athletes to help kids learn confidence and the dangers of using drugs and alcohol.

Jolyn Green, 14, is a veteran of these basketball camps and Catchings’ cousin.

“You practice on dribbling and passing and sometimes you do jump rope, you do races and you do fitness stuff to get better weight or to get active,” Jolyn explains.

The camps focus on fitness, endurance and setting life goals, using basketball as a medium. Each camp also includes a visit and a conversation with Catchings.

Bailee Hawkins, 10; Teryna Owens, 8; Ashanti Smith, 11; and Jacob Jackson, 10, attended these foundation basketball camps. They agree that the camps are fun, but the main attraction is Catchings.

“The one perfect thing about her is the way she gets involved in her camp and how she gets involved with us,” Ashanti says.

Tauja and Tamika have been a team ever since they were young girls.

“I hated Barbie dolls but I loved basketball; Tauja loved Barbie dolls and basketball was just kind of something she did,” says Catchings.

“So we had to do a little bartering system. I’d play about 30 minutes of Barbie dolls with her in order to play 30 minutes of basketball, so that was kind of how we got along.”

As adults, the sisters continue to cooperate to reach their goals.

“In 10 years I’d love for our mentoring programs to be nationwide,” Catchings says.

“I’d love to run my own facility complete with basketball courts, classrooms, reading corners and more. My vision is that it’ll be a positive place for kids to hang out.” She’d like to partner with a large youth organization such as the YMCA.

She also has dreams for a more personal youth team, which happens to jibe with the sport of basketball: “I would love to have a family someday. My dream is to have five kids.”

ASSISTANT EDITORS: Joi Officer, 14; Jessika Officer, 16.

REPORTER: Isaac Smith, 11.

Copyright 2008 Y-Press

Get in the game

To learn more about Catchings’ youth programs, visit www.catchin24.com or e-mail catchthestars24@aol.com. Spots fill up quickly. The next program is Catch on to Fitness Clinic at Pike High School, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Nov. 15.