Bronx nonprofit breaks barriers, imparts life lessons for young girls through basketball

By Shosh Bedrosian

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    BRONX, New York (WCBS) — A local nonprofit in the Bronx is working to break down barriers for girls in the borough.

We Got Next Sports has created a safe space that not only teaches young girls how to play basketball, but important life lessons.

“This is a team you can feel comfortable with. If you mess up, they’ll still be like, ‘It’s OK, you got this,'” said 14-year-old Valeria Castro.

Every shot made and move accomplished is a step toward a milestone for the girls playing basketball at Accion Academy in Longwood.

“Opened my eyes to stuff that I could do,” said Castro.

They’re milestones for team victories and of life lessons.

“I feel like basketball keeps me calm and it helps me with my anxiety, like you focus on one thing and you just go with it,” said 12-year-old Symphoni Najae-Franklin.

You would never be able to tell the team first assembled in March when a local nonprofit created She Got Next, a basketball team free-of-charge that empowers young girls to continue playing the game in a safe space. Athletes come from all over the borough and beyond.

“A lot of girls stop around the middle school years, but we’re trying to make it so they still feel comfortable, still have availability and space and cut down some of those barriers in place,” said Antoine Noble, the Founder of She Got Next.

Noble says boys’ sports are usually prioritized over girls’, limiting opportunities and safe environments for them after school.

“A lot of girls do still have the passion, they’re just not afforded the availability to express that passion,” said Noble.

Najae-Franklin and Castro told CBS2 from their few months on the team, they now have dreams of taking the sport to the next level.

“I want scholarships and stuff like that. Not just, “Oh, she’s good at school, like she has sports,'” said Castro.

“When I get older, I want to be in the WNBA and I just want to be a basketball player,” said Najae-Franklin.

In an environment of encouragement, enthusiasm and equity, She Got Next is changing the pathway and importance of girls in sports each practice at a time.

“Keep on going and just follow your path and don’t let nobody tell you otherwise, because you can do it,” said Najae-Franklin.

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