Any day now my wife Emily is due with our second son, and we have been through the ringer trying to come up with just the right name. We had to laugh at some of the disqualifying factors preventing us from choosing certain names. For example, does it sound right with our son Daniel’s name, or have I had a student with that name in the past that brings up challenging memories? In addition to making sure the name sounds strong and doesn’t carry baggage, it also must hold the right meaning. Does the name’s meaning describe our son, or who we hope our son will be? These factors are important, and it is strange to think that they are directly related to what we went through when choosing the name Just Hoops.
I googled, prayed, brainstormed and even asked my students at the time what they thought we should call the facility. We came up with basketball phrases, training words, rhymes, metaphors and so on. Just like my son’s name, we needed a name that sounded right and represented our values. We decided on Just Hoops because it carried two important aspects that we needed to communicate.
- We would be a facility exclusively dedicated to basketball.
- We would run this business with integrity.
The first aspect that our name must communicate clearly is that we are solely focused on basketball. We invest all our resources to create Central Ohio’s premier basketball training facility. The people, the equipment and the events will all be dedicated to the game of basketball to make our members better players–one focus executed to the best of our ability.
The second aspect is that we want to operate day in and day out with integrity, not only teaching players the game of basketball, but also using this game to help students learn life skills. We strive to be positive influences to athletes who work with us. Our faith is paramount in how we live life, and we want this facility to reflect that faith by “bringing sunshine” (as the owner, John Joseph, says) to each of our members. Commitment, hard work, perseverance, learning from our mistakes and a positive attitude are just a few character traits that athletes can learn by playing this game at our facility.
With these two aspects in consideration, we decided on the name Just Hoops. When the passerby sees this name the first aspect is covered, we are just about basketball. The name Just Hoops can also reflect that our business will operate with integrity each day. The word ‘just’ is defined by Webster’s dictionary as “acting or being in conformity with what is morally upright or good.” So, it’s the game of basketball done the right way, with our morals being the guiding factor in our decisions. As a former teacher at Olentangy Berkshire Middle School, we made decisions not what was easy or convenient for us, but based on one factor, “what is best for kids.” This is the exact standard we will use at Just Hoops. I am interested in quality instruction in everything we do. Our product will not be watered down in any way, we will do what is best for our members. We will operate justly.
So after all that thinking and praying we decided that the name Just Hoops by Shoot-A-Way reflects everything we stand for. Basketball with integrity. Basketball done the right way. Basketball on and off the court. Just Hoops.
Thank you for taking the time to read our first Blog post. It will be through this blog that our staff and trainers will communicate information that we think is worth sharing. It could be coaching tips, at home drills, how-to articles or simply interesting basketball or character related articles. We want to use this BLOG to help you continue growing in your process of becoming a better player, better coach or better person.
Brad Niley
Director
Just Hoops by Shoot-A-Way