Students at a London elementary school learned firsthand that girls can be anything, even a Harlem Globetrotter.
Globetrotters rookie Briana "Hoops" Green visited St. Sebastian Catholic Elementary School on Cairn St. on Thursday. Green is only the 15th woman to wear the iconic red, white, and blue uniform in the team's 91-year history.
"Most people don't know that girls are on the team so they're mesmerized and can't believe it when I walk in and they scream 'it's a girl!' It's really funny to see the kids' reaction to it," said Green.
While at the school, Green took part in a basketball game between the school's boys team and the girls team. The whole school packed the gym for the match-up.
Grade 8 student, Abuk Malwalwas one of the players to receive tips from Green on how to improve her game.
"It was really fun. We all thought it was really cool to have her coach us and we all thought she was really good," said Malwal. "Hoops caught me one trick and how to have fun with basketball. It doesn't have to be a serious game, you can have fun too."
Malwal admits she was surprised to learn women can have a professional basketball career.
"When she talked about her experiences playing the game it really proved to me that girls can do anything. Basketball is for girls too," said Malwal.
Students had an endless number of questions for Green, including how she got to become a famous basketball player.
"Practice. If you practice everyday, you can be the best and work your way up," said Green, who also stressed the importance of education and respecting teachers, parents, and other students.
She said inspiring and mentoring young women is a big part of the reason why she wanted to become a Globetrotter.
"Literally after every game I'll have a Mom or Dad come up to me and say 'thank you for being an inspiration to my daughter.' It says a lot to me, it means a lot to me. We are trying to break barriers," said Green. "I want girls to know that girls can do whatever they want. Gender doesn't matter."
Green and the rest of the Harlem Globetrotters bring their 2017 World Tour to Budweiser Gardens on April 15.
