Nike and Adidas will serve as founding partners for iHoops, the youth basketball initiative. Created by the NCAA and NBA, iHoops is designed to provide supporting services and programs for youth basketball players ages 6 to 18, their parents, coaches, officials and team and event administrators.
The co-sponsoring by adidas and Nike supports the initiative's goal to create a coalition of key stakeholders, which also includes USA Basketball, the Amateur Athletic Union, the National Federation of State High Schools and its member associations and the major coaches associations. Board members for the initiative include Duke University's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, NCAA SVP of basketball and business strategies Greg Shaheen, NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver, NBA EVP of basketball operations Stu Jackson, NBA EVP of social responsibility and player programs Kathy Behrens, and attorney and college basketball television analyst Len Elmore.
iHoops.com, which will launch this fall, will provide skill-training curriculum, certification programs for coaches and officials and the opportunity to register for events, tournaments and programs. In addition, the site will feature instructional videos, player profiles and highlights from tournaments.
