What started Ball for Lives in the first place was the idea that basketball has the power to captivate people. In “Create the Crossover,” Dan Occhiogrosso mixes impressive and entertaining dribbling skills with his own personal basketball story. By questioning the crowd, showing pictures and video, and calling up volunteers to try different tricks and games, Create the Crossover keeps people engaged throughout and leaves them wanting more!
After an incredible amount of hard work (and failure), Occh came to realize that he could play basketball for something much bigger than scoring points or winning games. The assembly transitions as he shares his accomplishment of running while dribbling a basketball for the entire New York City Marathon to raise awareness and funds for the orphans of South Africa. The true inspritation, however, comes when he shares that his one race started Dribble the World (the first extension of Ball for Lives), inspiring people around the continent to dribble different running events to save lives across the globe!
The message of living for something bigger than yourself can be applied to countless topics that are facing students today. Occh has done Create the Crossover presentations dealing with drugs, alcohol, drunk driving, sex, gangs, bullying, coping, fitness, academics, goal setting, positive attitudes, and more. However, instead of simply telling kids what not to do because of the negative consequenses, Create the Crossover inspires them to live for something bigger than those things. What a refreshing change for students (and staff)!
The presentation has been done for all grade levels and adapted to different time frames. Typical settings are a gym, auditorium stage, or outdoor blacktop. For availability, pricing, and a detailed written description of the assembly, Contact Us.
