Basketball has been an important part of Yash Zandiyeh鈥檚 life for as long as he can remember.
When Zandiyeh was five years old and living in Tsawwassen, he enrolled in former Harlem Globetrotter Mel Davis鈥� basketball program.
鈥淢y sister, who is three years older than me, she was in the program. And I鈥檓 literally sitting there and he鈥檚 like, 鈥楬ey, do want to come play with us?鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淔rom there I basically just stuck with Mel until I was like 12 or 13 years old.鈥�
Zandiyeh played basketball for Vancouver鈥檚 Magee Secondary, graduating in 2002. At 18, he went on to coach Night Hoops (a program for at-risk youth aged 13-18 in Vancouver and Burnaby) for five years, then refereed there for another six after that. For the past seven years he鈥檚 been coaching basketball at Vancouver鈥檚 Killarney Secondary.
Five years ago, Zandiyeh started on Twitter as means of promoting and supporting the province鈥檚 basketball community. Since then it鈥檚 expanded to other social media channels and a website.
鈥淭here was like a three or four year period where literally 10 out of 12 months it was just basketball,鈥� Zandiyeh said. 鈥淟ike, I鈥檇 coach, go watch a game, on weekends I鈥檇 be at tournaments, I鈥檇 coach club in the spring, in the summer I鈥檇 go watch club teams play.
鈥淪o that鈥檚 basketball for me.鈥�
Now he鈥檚 looking to take it a step further and help the hoops community give back by organizing the first annual BC Hoops Shoe Drive, on now through Jan. 13.
At a number of Lower Mainland high schools and tournaments, players, coaches and fans can drop off their old, clean shoes to be donated to , a Kelowna-based charity that provides footwear to the working poor and homeless both at home and abroad.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just basketball shoes, [it can be] casual shoes, it can be whatever,鈥� he said.
After the last shoes are collected, Zandiyeh will be bringing all that donated footwear to the Shoe Warehouse in Ladner, who will handle getting the haul up to the Shoe Bank鈥檚 headquarters in Kelowna.
Zandiyeh got the idea for the shoe drive after a friend of his collected more than 250 pairs of shoes for Covenant House in Vancouver last spring.
鈥淥nce he did that I was like, 鈥榊ou know what? That鈥檚 kind of a cool idea,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淚 realized that I think it had been a very, very long time since, at least within the basketball community, we had some type of shoe drive or any type of initiative like that that really gives back.鈥�
Using the contacts he had developed both as a coach and through BC Hoop Scoop, Zandiyeh reached out to several area high schools to ask if they鈥檇 be willing to putting aside those rivalries and come together for a good cause.
鈥淏eing politically correct, there is some animosity in the basketball community,鈥� he said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 just forget about all that stuff and let鈥檚 just do something that鈥檚 positive and good and grow.鈥�
Zandiyeh said the community has grown by leaps and bounds in the last decade or two, but with that has come increased pressure on both the players and their parents.
鈥淚f you look at basketball 15, 20 years ago, there were maybe two or three programs. Now, it鈥檚 just a money pit. Parents are paying all this money for their kids to go train, play club, all of that stuff,鈥� he said.
鈥淪o 鈥� how do we shift away from all that stuff? [Well], not shift away from it, but just do something that鈥檚 honestly, as clich茅ed as it sounds, out of the goodness of our hearts, and gives back to people.鈥�
Anyone looking to donate to the BC Hoops Shoe Drive can find donation bins at the following locations/events:
鈥� Dec. 7-9: G.W. Graham Middle-Secondary (Chilliwack)
鈥� Dec. 7-9: Tsumura Basketball Invitational (boys) at the 91原创 Events Centre
鈥� Dec. 8-9: Sands Secondary (North Delta)
鈥� Dec. 14-16: Tsumura Basketball Invitational (girls) at the 91原创 Events Centre
鈥� Dec. 15-16: G.W. Graham Middle-Secondary (Chilliwack)
鈥� Dec. 19-21: McDonalds VPD Winter Invitational, at Gladstone Secondary and Windermere Secondary (Vancouver)
鈥� Jan. 10-12: Churchill Secondary (Vancouver)
鈥� Jan. 10-13: St. Thomas More Collegiate (Burnaby)
鈥� Jan. 10-13: Sands Secondary (North Delta)
David Thompson Secondary in Vancouver will also be hosting a donation bin for the duration of the shoe drive.
editor@northdeltareporter.com
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