Creating Opportunity Through Basketball
The Cleveland Project is a 501(c)(3) non-for-profit organization founded to provide school-aged youth in Northern Ireland access to quality coaching and competitive opportunities to participate in and observe all levels of the game of basketball. Our program reignites a partnership founded in the mid 1980s when a group of Cleveland, Ohio businessmen helped sponsor and promote the game in Northern Ireland.
Registration is open for our next program year. Inquire below.
"I love, I LOVE coaching enthusiastic kids! And the Cleveland Project has been very successful at getting school kids to be enthusiastic about basketball. I’m so happy to be part of this program to help these kids further themselves mentally and physically."
— Coach Kelvin Troy
Rutgers University '77-'81, Basketball Ireland Hall of Fame inductee
The Cleveland Project
In the first two years, our program has exploded. Year three will be even larger.
St John the Baptist`s College have been putting in the hard work with Coach Rolandus this term. They have been locking down their skills and are ready to play hard at the upcoming Cleveland Blitz! 👏
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📹 Rolandus Bartkus
Mar 14
🚀 Cleveland Rockets VS Dublin Lions 🦁
Breda Dick`s Match Report:
Dublin Lions got off to a very strong start but the Rockets fought hard and Lions had the lead 22 - 20 at the end of the first quarter. Good defense from Caitlin, Charlie & Eimile helped Rockets stay in the game along with some great inside moves from Georgie McGrath who scored well for the Rockets.
Sofia Paska shot extremely well for Lions and caused a lot of problems for the rockets. The second quarter saw Lions dominate and by the half Rockets were trailing 47 - 35.
In the second half the Rockets came our fighting and with their full court press and numerous steals. Rockets led 64 - 62 at the end of the 3rd quarter. This was due to superb shooting from Anna Brennan (Rockets Captain) who had a season high of 20 points in the game. Alongside Anna we had Megan Ormiston picking up 10 points around the basket and some great drives from Caitlin Glockner along with numerous rebounds and Georgie McGrath with several blocks all contributed to this turnaround.
The fourth quarter was basket for basket with Maeve Deery`s presence on the boards and defense was a great help for the Cleveland Rockets.
Charley McGrath hit a big 3 to give the Rockets the lead but an unfortunate incident in the final minute of the game saw Caitlin jumping for a ball but the referee was on the court and Caitlin fell over his leg and the ball went out of play and the referee awarded the ball to Lions. This was such a crucial call at this point as Rockets were 2 points up with 14 seconds to go.
A technical foul issued to Rockets put Lions on the line for 1 shot and then possession.
Lions called a time out with 4.9 seconds on the clock. They advanced the ball, inbounded it and managed to hit Sofia Paska who popped the shot and scored giving Lions the win by 1 point 75 - 74.
The scoresheet was signed under protest by Rockets Captain Anna Brennan."
Scorers: Rockets
Anna Brennan 20
Caitlin Glockner 19
Megan Ormiston 16
Georgie McGrath 14
Charley McGrath 5
Lions:
Sofia Paska 30
Ciara Wheeler 13
Katie Flanagan 12
Mia Ryan 9
Gillian Wheeler 6
Tara Nevin 3
CIara Broderick 2
Mar 3
Monday has come again! 🏀 Back to the court this week and ready to put in the work!⠀
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#MondayMotivation #HoopSeason⠀
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Feb 10
Skills on skills on skills thanks to Coach Emily! 💯
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#ClevelandProject #NorthernIreland #BasketballNI #EducationNI #SchoolBasketball #YouthSport #InvestInOurYouth #CreatingOpportunityThroughBasketball #Charity
Jan 24
🏀 GAME TIME 🏀
CLEVELAND ROCKETS VS TEMPLEOGUE THIS WEEKEND!
Come and show your support for the squad!
📍National Basketball Arena
⏱️ 7:00PM
Head Coach Breda Dick:
"We have just signed a new American Megan Ormiston 6`2 from Colarado. Megan has been playing in Killarney this season with Superleague team St. Paul`s Killarney. We were delighted to pick her up as I feel she is a great fit for our team and she gives us the height we need.
In the first half of the season we lost to Templeogue by 7 points but we have shown much better form since then.
Charlie McGrath, Anna Brennan and Caitlin Gloeckner are a force to be reckoned with. All 3 girls are shooting well and are scoring double figures. Georgie McGrath is a stand out when it comes to rebounding and causes a headache for the opposition with her strong post moves.
Aoibheann Donnelly 16 years of age is making a real impact in her first season in the league.
She`s a tremendous defender and brings that extra energy needed on offence.
Eimile Rogers and Niamh O`Leary come off the bench and have been contributing really well in the league. Eimile is a strong defender and with her strong left hand she contributes well to the overall score. Niamh plays the post and picks up points from her jump shot around the key.
We are looking forward to Saturdays game again Templeogue in the National Basketball arena."
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#ClevelandProjectNI #BasketballIreland #Division1 #WomensBasketball #Ireland #Cleveland #NationalBasketballArena
Jan 21
Who says practicing your handles has to be boring? 🎈⠀
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Try dribbling a basketball while keeping a balloon in the air! It’s a fun, creative way for kids to work on their dribbling and vision skills. The challenge keeps them engaged, while improving coordination and focus. Plus, it`s a blast! 😄⠀
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Shoutout to Coach Emily for this great one!! 🙌⠀
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#ClevelandProjectNI #Basketball #NorthernIreland #SchoolBasketball #EducationNI #CreatingOpportunityThroughBasketball #InvestInOurYouth
Jan 19
🏀 New Year, More Cleveland Project in Northern Ireland! 🏀
As we kick off this exciting new year, we’re thrilled to announce that our foundation is bigger, better, and ready to bring MORE basketball to more kids than ever before! 🎉
Take a look at our highlights from one of our Cleveland Blitz days last term. We hope you`re excited for the next one!
This year we have a total of 6,500 kids participating in our schools program! That`s the most kids we`ve coached so far!
With a new school year underway, we’re expanding our programs and providing opportunities for young players to participate, learn, grow, and have fun on the court in a cross-community environment! Whether it’s improving skills, making new friends, or simply enjoying the game, we’re committed to making sure every child has a chance to play.
📽️: Rolandus Bartkus
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#ClevelandProject #ClevelandProjectNI #NorthernIreland #SchoolBasketball #CreatingOpportunityThroughBasketball #EducationNI #YouthBasketball #ClubParticipation #ParticipationPathway
Jan 18
Cleveland Project Initiatives: What are they?
#2 University Scholarships
It`s our aim to create opportunity through basketball and to create as much of it as we can. We sponsor dedicated young individuals with a passion for basketball to earn a degree at the prestigious Queen`s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Last year we sent Ryan Berger and Danny Lavelle to Queen`s as The Cleveland Project Scholars. Ryan has completed his Postgraduate Master’s Degree in Business Administration and Danny is in his second year of his Undergraduate Degree in Finance Management. Danny is joined this year by our newest Cleveland Project Scholar Patrick Daugherty.
SCHOLARSHIP BASKETBALL OPPORTUNITIES
Queen`s University:
- Throughout their time at Queen`s University, these talented young players play for the Queen’s University Basketball Club in the Varsities competition.
- They get the opportunity to be a member of the club’s basketball committee and help endorse the sport across campus and drive key decision making.
- Attend University events - last year the scholars met Enes Kanter Freedom at the One Young World Conference.
- Visa - 2 year work Visa post graduation.
Phoenix Basketball Club:
- Play for Phoenix Basketball Club in the BIDL and Premier Leagues.
- Coach one of the Phoenix Youth basketball teams (U12/U14/U16/U18/U20) boys and girls.
- Opportunities to do 1-on-1 training.
- Summer Camp Coaching at Hard2Guard X Cleveland Project Summer Clinics.
The Cleveland Project:
- Be an ambassador for the sport around the Belfast community.
- Coach basketball sessions in Primary and Secondary Schools (Scholars are paid for coaching).
- Help coach the Cleveland Blitz’s at the end of each 8-week school program.
- Coach the U13 Cleveland All-Star team. This gathers the best players from NI to come together, train, and compete against teams from all over the country. This year they travelled to play Murcia in Spain.
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#ClevelandProject #ClevelandProjectNI #NorthernIreland #EducationNI #Basketball #YouthBasketball #SkillDevelopment #CrossCommunity #BasketballNI #InvestInOurYouth #IrishAmerican #OpportunityThroughBasketball
Dec 15
What a superb first term of schools coaching for the Cleveland Project! 🏀⠀
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Shoutout to all the players, coaches, organisers, teachers, family members and supporters that continue to make the Cleveland Blitz such an exciting day that it is! ⠀
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It`s a team effort just like the game and it`s always a fantastic day bringing these young players together from all sides of the community to enjoy the sport we love so much! ⠀
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Here`s to next term!⠀
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#ClevelandProject #ClevelandProjectNI #NorthernIreland #EducationNI #SchoolsNI #Cleveland #America #YouthSports #InvestInOurYouth #CreatingOpportunityThroughBasketball
Dec 14
We present to you our medalists from the Cleveland Blitz! 🏅👏
Well done kiddos! 😁
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#ClevelandProject #ClevelandProjectNI #NorthernIreland #Basketball #EducationNI #SportNI #YouthBasketball #LittleBallers #Ireland #BasketballNI #InvestInOurYouth #Charity
Dec 11