Today we’d like to introduce you to Coach Patty Medina.
Hi Coach Patty, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Patty Medina and I am the founder of Hooper Mentality Foundation. This foundation originated in my hometown of San Diego, California but, since the official launch in 2019, we have been able to impact communities throughout the entire United States, Mexico, South America, and Palestine. We host free basketball camps, guest speaking arrangements, and/or host training sessions with local coaches and organizations in which we focus on mental health awareness, leadership skills, and life skills training with the student-athletes. Throughout the camps, we have “break out sessions” where the student-athletes discuss mental health, learn how to identify triggers, and learn coping skills. We have local pastors lead prayer, yoga instructors host a session, and/or sports psychologists offer their knowledge. Initially, we would hand out t-shirts for free at the events and then more and more people started asking about our apparel. So we launched an online store in 2020 to help fund all of our initiatives. Since launching we have not had to ask for donations, fortunately, the sales have supported all of our community events.
We, alongside some amazing community organizers, were also part of another initiative called “Speak Up & Dribble,” a children’s march and protest that inspired student-athletes to use their platforms to speak out on social injustices. We hosted these marches in San Francisco, Oregon, New York, Los Angeles, and San Diego. We gave out free Hooper Mentality shirts at each protest with our motto “Bigger Than Basketball.” We want to continue to remind athletes that their gifts and talents are the gateways to their purpose and the tools they need to impact their communities.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I founded Hooper Mentality after witnessing firsthand the needs of the youth from basketball programs in the inner city areas of San Diego and Orange County. I had been coaching at many levels for 16 years and, throughout those years, had seen what depression, anxiety, and mental health issues can do to athletes and coaches. Figuring out new and relevant ways to help student athletes with these mental health issues has been a challenge in and of itself.
I personally suffered from depression and have had to attend the funerals of former athletes that fell into depression or drug addictions and committed suicide. I’ve had athletes attending Alcoholics Anonymous at a very young age, teen pregnancy, and also watched athletes finish their basketball careers and fall into depression because they were not adequately prepared for the workforce.
My goal is that Hooper Mentality will provide athletes, from middle school to college levels, the proper resources to deal with mental health issues and help diminish the stigma surrounding mental health in the minority community. Along with mental health-related assistance, Hooper Mentality will provide resources for athletes in the areas of life skills and leadership skills. Topics such as money management, business start-up, resume building, interview skills, and many more necessary areas of expertise that the educational system fails to emphasize.
Mental illnesses do not discriminate or choose who it affects based on a person’s social status or circumstance, that means athletes are just as susceptible as anyone else. We aim to make Hooper Mentality a safe haven for athletes of all levels to share their testimonies and find the necessary resources for whatever circumstance they are facing.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Hooper Mentality partners up with many organizations to host conferences for student-athletes, working with Sports Psychologists from local universities to provide pro-bono services to athletes and coaches in at-risk areas throughout the United States, Latin America, Mexico, and Palestine. Our vision is in its beginning stages but we are sure that this initiative will be powerful and transcend boundaries, colors, and social expectations.
Recently, we partnered with the Jr. NBA, WNBA and NBA to help host all-girls camps throughout the United States. We recently hosted one in Baltimore and another in Detroit. “Her Time To Play” is a national initiative that is dedicated to championing change on behalf of girls and women and providing them with ways to connect, collaborate, and actively engage with one another through the game of basketball.
What sets us apart from others is that we seek to collaborate, instead of compete, with as many local organizations throughout the cities. We are not trying to reinvent the wheel; instead, we want to bring community organizations together for a greater cause. Every event that we host is free to the participants and any expenses we accrue are covered by the profit from our apparel sales. All the money that we collect goes right back to the community, all of our coaches are volunteers and the facilities are usually sponsored. We are a genuine nonprofit organization.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Being genuine and intentional has gotten our organization further than we could have ever imagined. We acknowledge that there is power in vulnerability and through shared experiences, we can come together to make mental health an important factor in our communities, sports, the workforce, and life in general.
Being genuine sounds like a simple task; however, in a world powered by social media statuses, many lose sight of the greater task at hand. We use our customers as our models, we share their mental health stories and we continue to organize events that are not based on monetary compensation but focus on the impact that we can make in the community. We take part in food drives, we were part of the Salt Box Art Project in Baltimore and we continue to donate to other local organizations that promote mental health, sports, and youth advancement.
Contact Info:
- Email: thehoopermentality@gmail.com
- Website: HooperMentality.com
- Instagram: @the.hooper.mentality and @coach.patty
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coach.pmedina
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/coachpmedina
Image Credits:
Jackie Sandoval
