Building Jamaica's Basketball Pipeline with Wayne Dawkins
He did it in Canada—now it's Jamaica's turn
Whatsup Squad,
Imagine having a passion for basketball, but not having anywhere to play. That’s the reality for many young Jamaican hoopers.
Luckily, I had the pleasure of sitting down with the man working to change that.
Wayne Dawkins is a social entrepreneur and the founder of P.H.A.S.E. 1 Basketball Academy, the premier platform for youth basketball development on the island.
Before launching P.H.A.S.E. 1, Wayne helped build the foundation for modern Canadian basketball, mentoring future NBA players like Andrew Nicholson and Denham Brown, and later developing prep academies in Arizona and Africa.
If you’d like to watch the full video interview, you can check it out here.
Here’s what stood out:
I originally thought that you were a coach, but the more I've talked to you and learned, I realized you're more of a basketball architect. So could you talk to us a little bit about how you see grassroots basketball?
I appreciate that because no disrespect to coaches out there, and anybody who desires and strives to be a coach, but that's not what I wanted to be.
I wanted to be a community builder. I wanted to use basketball to bring my community together, elevate the community, create more opportunities for kids in the community.
And for me, sitting on the end of the bench as a coach wasn't, that wasn't my thought process and how to do it.
So my thing was always, I want to create the All-Star game. I want to create the league, because once you can do that, now you're facilitating participation at a much higher level.
You have a lot more control of what you can accomplish for the community when you're on the side of building the events and programs.
Can you speak to some of the similarities with the Jamaica model now and how it reflects or mirrors what you did in Canada?
So a lot of people ask me silly questions like, is there talent in Jamaica? I said, no, you got to think about it.
The talent that we celebrate in Canada is Jamaican and Caribbean DNA. The only difference is the infrastructure was there for us to plug into to develop that raw talent.
For me, going into Jamaica wasn't a question of whether there was talent, it was a question of whether we could duplicate some of the infrastructure, programs, leagues, facilities that were in Canada that allowed us to flourish.
And if we can put that in Jamaica, then why would we not get the same results?
We have all of this amazing youth talent in Jamaica, so what's the thing that's holding the country and the sport back on the island in your opinion?
I think there's a few different areas. Obviously, infrastructure, but even if you actually put buildings and facilities in there and leagues and different things like that, you still need obviously people who know how to run programs.
But I think the big thing why you don't see that investment is the fact that Jamaica, like Africa for the longest time, and the other Black Caribbean, is being primarily an export country when it comes to basketball talent.
And if you think about it, don't invest where the talent is being exported. Why are you going to invest in buildings and infrastructure to develop the talent in a place where you can just walk in there and take it.
And the whole notion that, when they blow up and make all kinds of money, they'll come back and they'll give back. Well, give back ends up being a pair of shoes, a motivational talk, or like things like that, but that's not infrastructure.
True give back is the ability to invest and support sustainable programs. Things that are going to produce long-term results. I can come there to Jamaica and give 20 pairs of shoes out. Kids are playing outdoors. Them shoes are done in like two weeks.
That's what I feel like it's been missing. Jamaica has been an export country and the understanding or the willingness to invest in sustainable long-term development projects.
The evidence is just not there. It's a lot of one-offs. A lot of photo ops, lot of discussions, and then nothing changes.
Can you speak to a project you’ve worked on that is sustainable?
I came into Jamaica and there was no indoor wooden floor on the whole North Coast. And you got to think about Negril, Ocho Rios, Montego Bay, no wooden indoor floor.
There's a story of Jimmy Butler coming and he wanted to train and work out, and there was nowhere he could go.
He'd have to go all the way to Spanish Town or to Kingston, and those facilities are not even worth it in the two, three hour drive for somebody of his caliber.
So we found a floor that was donated by Boston University and we leased that and we put that in Montego Bay Community College. And by putting that in there now, it's the only indoor wooden floor on the whole North Coast. But look what it did.
Right away, as soon as we put that floor down and sent a video out, you we get a call from Draymond Green's people and they're on their way to Cabo. They turn their private jet around and they're in Jamaica now.
How can we support the work you are doing with P.H.A.S.E. 1?
If you're of Jamaican descent, leave a legacy, be the first to put your name on a facility or bus or something that can change the game forever for kids in Jamaica.
Whether you have lots of money or a little bit of money, you can contribute to this massive growth at the grassroots level of the game.
We personally as an organization will have over 430 athletes participating in competitive basketball this summer in Jamaica, travel teams, and league showcases.
So to facilitate that, kids need shoes, balls, and tents. And we need referee shirts and whistles. These are all things that are very difficult to get on the island.
So I'm here in Canada and I'll be in the US just knocking doors and asking anyone who wants to work with us to collect goods that we can ship to Jamaica and help facilitate our summer programs and ongoing grassroots programs.
Final Thoughts
Just from our brief conversation, I can tell that the future of Jamaican basketball is bright. Not because NBA players are showing interest in representing the national team, but because Jamaica has real talent already on the island.
It just needs the infrastructure.
Wayne Dawkins has developed basketball academies, leagues, and programs all over the world, so I can’t think of a better person to be building that infrastructure.
Whether it’s gear, funding, or strategic support, every contribution helps push the movement forward.
Until next time ✌🏾
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