Meet Wumi: The Selfless Coach Growing the Women's Game

"I'm gonna cover you since you're the worst on the team"

This is what a little boy said to me (Katherine Allen, founder of humangood[s]), when I was 7 years old and the only female at a basketball camp. I was also the youngest.

As a new basketball fan I was beyond excited to be joining my older brother at camp. But my confidence was shattered when this little boy decided to pick on me. He made me feel like I wasn't good enough. This experience shook me deeper than I realized and made me fear I wasn't good enough to play house league ball. I always wonder where basketball would've taken me if I wasn't scared to play during the 7ish year gap between this incident, and when I could finally join my school's middle school team. Either way, my experience shines light on a crucial issue: girls need reprsentation and safe spaces to flourish.

Wumi Agunbiade, Assistant Coach of the Queen's Gaels, creates exactly that with Hooper's Loop.

Hoopers Loop is an organization that helps every student athlete translate to the next level up with confidence in all aspects of life. From physical and mental training, to nutrition and yoga, Coach Wumi fosters safe spaces for youth, particularly young females, to flourish on and off the court.

Seeded in 2019, Hoopers Loop has evolved to become a staple to student-athletes' year-round development. "After reflecting on the lived and played experiences of my teammates, colleagues, and myself," Coach Wumi describes, "I knew I had to act on the 'if only's' by creating a development program for our future leaders."

When asked what impact Coach Wumi hopes to have on the women's game, she explained that that she wants to "encourage the individual to be the best version of themselves by focusing their energy and attention on each step towards their goals and aspirations".

Wumi has successfully pivoted her efforts during the pandemic to include virtual sessions, which the below video includes testimonials from students who have participated - the impact is undeniable. Through Hoopers Loop, Wumi will continue to educate, empower, and uplift the youth in areas that support them as total people "who happen to play basketball."

When it comes to female participation in sport, 1/3 girls will drop out out sports by their teen years. That said, 95% of all Fortune 500 CEOs played sports and when it comes to women currently holding a C-suite position, this proportion rose to 96%. This means that encouraging female participation in sports can also, in turn, encourage gender equity in tomorrow's boardrooms. 

Basketball is an amazing sport that transcends culture and creates fantastic opportunities for youth of all backgrounds. We are grateful for selfless leaders like Wumi who lower barriers of access so more young women can participate in sport to reap the mental and physical benefits of sports. Wumi, thank you for your commitment to empowering and uplifting students to be the best versions of themselves.

25% of all proceeds from Drop 3 will be donated to Hoopers Loop to directly support their student-athlete programming. Follow @hoopersloop on social and shop our collection to support.