NBA stars to visit Yao School summer camps

The NBA Yao School will launch summer camps in Beijing providing basketball training and fitness programs for boys and girls at all skill levels, NBA China and Yao Ming said on Friday.

The camps will be at the Wukesong Hi-Park in Haidian district and the No 3 Middle School in Balizhuang, Chaoyang district from July 14 to August 23.

The summer camp is a six-week program aiming to teach teamwork, leadership and communication in a basketball environment. The camps will be led by technical director Billy Singleton, who has two decades of playing and coaching experience internationally.

NBA players will visit the school to provide specialized instruction and students who complete the curriculum will receive a Certificate of Graduation.

Launched in February, the first program of the NBA Yao School is currently taking place at the Wukesong Hi-Park.

"It is our dream to positively impact the lives of youth through basketball participation," said Yao. "We are happy to have this opportunity to continue teaching children the importance of communication, teamwork and leadership and helping them enjoy sport."

Students will attend training sessions that focus on key basketball fundamentals and have the opportunity to participate in games and organized team competitions where NBA Yao School core values such as teamwork and fair play will be taught.

"We are delighted to build on the success of this program to continue to provide teenagers with the platform to improve their basketball skills, acquire self-confidence and forge lasting relationships," said NBA China CEO David Shoemaker. "With these programs and special visits from NBA players, we hope our students will have a positive and rewarding summer."

Fans can register via the official website of the NBA Yao School , the official Weibo at http://weibo.com/nbayaomingxuexiao, Weixin NBA-YAO-SCHOOL, and the official hotline at 400-014-1113.

Since NBA China and Yao partnered in 2012, NBA China has provided support to the Yao Foundation's Hope School Basketball Season, which expanded to 79 Hope Schools and reached more than 60,000 children last year.

In July 2013, NBA China conducted the first NBA Cares Yao Foundation Charity Carnival, a free fan event held in the outdoor square at the MasterCard Center in Beijing, in support of Yao's charity game.