DeenUP Athletics is “Bigger Than Basketball”.

At DeenUP Athletics, a youth-focused basketball organization, we run camps, clinics, and elite academy teams. We run camps and clinics along with our very own elite academy teams. Our objective is to develop confident youths who excel both on and off the court. But, we need your help to keep going!

Since launching our programs in 2013, we have been fortunate enough to build and an international reputation for both our work on and off the court. We have successfully brought the discipline and training that comes with basketball skills development and meshed it with dedicated mentorship. We push our young student-athletes to aim high and put in their very best.

Our youths come from every background, representing the rich diversity and cultural and socioeconomic depth in Canada.

Year in Review (2016)

In the three years since our inception, we’ve worked with over 2000 players through 14 clinics, 13 camps, 16 teams, and individual training programs. Among them, 30 of our graduating players have received athletic scholarships and opportunities to play basketball at colleges and universities across Canada and in the U.S.!
Milestone in September 2015, we opened the doors for BTB Prep for the 2nd year, in collaboration with John Polanyi Collegiate Institute (a high school in the Toronto District School Board).

BTB Prep continues to be a place for players to develop academically and thrive athletically, under the same roof. Some highlights for BTB this year include:

- Winning, Indiana Circle City Shootout

- Winning, West Humber Invitational

- Chicago Classic

- Brock Invitational

- Finalist, Pinky Lewis Tournament

- Finalist, Guy Vetrie Memorial Tournament

- Travelling to USA to participate in the prestigious Prep Classic - Being the only High School Game covered on local television when we played the highly touted #1 Ranked Thon Maker and The Athlete Institute (Orangeville). Hats off to our amazing players this year!

We were also part of history when our profiled Guard – Ahmed Ali scored 103 points in a high school game. Ahmed becomes only the 2nd Canadian to reach that plateau, joining Denham Brown who attended University of Connecticut and was drafted into the NBA by the Seattle Supersonics. Ahmed then was subsequently interviewed by NPH, CTV, CFTO, TSN, Toronto Sun, ESPN, USA Today and more. He was also the featured Athlete of the Week from City TV & CP24. Ahmed Ali finished his 2016 High School Season averaging 72 Points Per Game – highest average ever recorded in North American High School Basketball!

Coach Adeel on the other hand was recently handpicked as one of the 2015 Change Makers of the Year by the popular Kashmir Life Weekly Magazine based out of his hometown in Kashmir, India. His impact has crossed national boundaries into the South Asian subcontinent.

In 2015, we were able to facilitate an opportunity for over 8 athletes to pursue Post Secondary scholarship opportunities. Amongst them were:

- Amin Suleman, who is currently attending University of Prince Edward Island

- Alex Petronis at Dalhousie University

- Mike Jonathan at Little Big Horn College in Montana, USA

Since we’re limited with time and resources, it’s the community support that keeps us moving forward with Bigger Than Basketball (BTB) and DeenUP Athletics. Our reach continues to grow through word-of-mouth, with programs reaching Mississauga and Waterloo in the West to Scarborough and Ottawa in the East!

So why donate?

DeenUP’s strength lies in the communities it serves. Our trainers and staff are drawn from the very same neighbourhoods that we work with. The guiding philosophy for our team is to keep things clear and simple – start at home and do that which is good.
We serve every kind of neighbourhood in order to spread our culture and work ethic. By interacting with a diverse range of communities, the youth that we work with become part of a larger community in of itself.

DeenUP is a community, a cluster of aspiring athletes from various backgrounds working hard but working together.

We push our young people to get involved in their neighbourhoods by volunteering, providing leadership, and injecting fresh ideas to energize entire communities. Our approach to social work starts on the basketball court with training that focuses on blending physical fitness and ethics training. In the fast paced world of today, DeenUP is amongst the very few that works on youth development like this.

How Did It Start?

Few winters ago, we came together to create a positive impact in our community using our collective basketball expertise, youth mentorship experience, and entrepreneurial spirit. At the time, we were like a blazing fire: full of heat and energyNow, we’ve all got full time-commitments to work and family: Adeel finally completed his Masters’ in International Relations at UofG, Coach Ibrahim has started his career as a teacher, gotten married and recently had his first child. Coach Jovon is working and completing the leadership development program at Shoppers Drug Mart. Coach Michel completing his Masters’ in International Relations at Guelph University, Babatunde Ibrahim has started his career as a Grade 7-8 teacher, Jovon is working and completing the leadership development program at Shoppers Drug Mart. Finally, Nahyan also recently got married and began his career at YES (Youth Employment Services).Continuing this has only been possible by surrounding ourselves with like-minded and supportive individuals.

This fundraising campaign will help us alleviate the financial pressures of running a social enterprise. In 2013, we found our home at the Center for Social Innovation and were proud to participate as one of ten groups selected as Agents of Change. We continue to spend our weekends at our workspace in Regent Park.

Your contribution goes towards growing the Basketball programs and we want to create more meaningful employment opportunities for the youth we deal with. How we do that is, when we have basketball training camps across Toronto and Ottawa, we hire our best players to become coaches themselves and teach the younger players. Create the cycle of looking out for those following your footsteps.

This would also fund part of the travel and tournaments costs for 2015-2016. Considering that the majority of our players come from marginalized neighborhoods, we subsidize costs to the best of our abilities. We don't get paid from this, our coaching staff is made up of dedicated volunteers.Overall, this "keeps the lights on", so we continue to provide high calibre training and mentorship programs. For young boys and girls to become healthier, more confident, and more capable.