Last week, Grace College’s women’s basketball assistant coach Ray Davis traveled to Ivory Coast for a 10-day trip.
Davis coached a group of current and former collegiate women’s basketball players in conjunction with Athletes in Action on a tour to Africa. The group conducted basketball camps, hosted coaching clinics and shared their faith in the city of Abidjan.
“One thing that surprised me was how incredibly open the Ivorians were to us. At every halftime of our games, one of the girls would share her testimony, and I shared mine at the coaches’ clinics,” Davis said. “It was neat to see how open the Ivorians were. They appreciated hearing our testimonies as much as they enjoyed learning basketball from us.”
The roster that Davis coached included players NCAA Division I schools like Iowa State, Rutgers, Northwestern, Elon and Appalachian State among others.
Davis’s team played three games against the Ivorian National Team. The national team was preparing for the upcoming Francophone Games, which are held every four years. The 2013 Francophone Games had 54 nations represented, and the 2017 games in Abidjan are expected to be larger.
Davis also ran two coaches’ clinics, and each clinic held over 50 participants. He instructed on the basics of shooting and the fastbreak offense, and he also demonstrated various drills to enhance shooting form and fullcourt conditioning.
“Spiritually, I felt like I learned to be more open with others about my walk with God. I was challenged to share my testimony with other coaches and players at a greater level, and I learned a lot from AIA and the girls in that area,” Davis said. “It was great seeing these high-level athletes who were just as passionate about their relationship with God as they were passionate about basketball.”
To read more about the trip, dive into the team’s blog that was updated live from Ivory Coast.— from gclancers.com