News
Hillside Connection leads second annual GameLikeHer Basketball Camp
Seventy girls aged 6 to 14 hit the basketball courts March 4 for Hillside Connection’s second annual GameLikeHer Basketball Camp. Click here to read more.
Hillside Connection building children through basketball camps
Hillside Connection Basketball Clinic recently held its sixth annual basketball camp providing kids with learning opportunities and a chance to hone their skills. Click here to read more.
Resiliency program expands to basketball clinic to improve mental health of SE Colorado Springs kids
A new program is helping to improve the mental health of kids in southeast Colorado Springs.
Children's Hospital Colorado started the "Building Resiliency for Healthy Kids" in middle schools back in 2020. The program utilizes a collective impact model to improve kids' resiliency through a motivational, child-centered, health coaching intervention approach. Click here to read more.
Southern Colorado Springs middle school students paired with Downtown Business Leaders to explore economic sectors
TrueSport Ambassador Trevon Jenifer at Hillside’s Spring Break Camp
This week, TrueSport, the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s (USADA) youth sport outreach program, hosted, in partnership with Hillside Connection, a spring break camp for Southside Colorado Springs Elementary School students at the Hillside Connection Enrichment Center and the Hillside Community Center. Click here to read more.
TrueSport hosting spring break camps for Southside Colorado Springs Elementary School students
With spring break upon us, the United States Anti-Doping Agency's youth sports outreach program, TrueSport, is partnering with Hillside Connection to host camps for Southside Colorado Springs Elementary School students. Click here to read more.
GameLike Her Basketball Clinic teaches basketball, life skills
Hillside Connection's GameLike Her Basketball Clinic on March 5 didn’t just offer local girls an opportunity to improve as hoopers.
The two-hour clinic at Carmel Community School provided more than 50 campers the chance to see women who excelled in various areas of basketball – collegiately and as pros. Click here to read more.
Drone soccer is more than a high-flying sport
This year’s Rocky Mountain State Games had a certain buzz about it. It was probably all the drones flying in the surrounding area as the games introduced a new competitive sport. Click here to read more.
Basketball legends Sheryl Swoopes, Lenny Wilkens assist with Hillside Connection clinic
Those who attended Hillside Connection’s basketball clinic Aug. 7 at the United States Olympic and Paralympic Museum got a lesson in hoops and life. Click here to read more.
Hillside Connection 3-v-3 Summer League tournament builds community
The scene at the Hillside Community Center during the final two weeks of June resembled a family reunion.
Music blared through the PA system in the building as everyone prepared for the Hillside Connection 3-v-3 Summer League games. Adults gathered and talked about sporting events and life during the pandemic. Click here to read more.
Give: Hillside Connection Leverages sports to provide opportunities to youth
While Hillside Connection focuses on basketball, Brown sees the game as a means, not an end. “We’re not in the business of making the next LeBron James,” he says. “If that’s what comes out of it, that’s great, but our core vision is to provide kids with a pathway to stay out of the streets and stay out of trouble…. Click here to read more.
TrueSport Partners with Hillside Connection for a TrueSport Community Model
TrueSport®, a positive youth sports movement powered by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), is excited to announce its new partnership with Hillside Connection, a youth sport organization based in Colorado Springs, Colo. Under TrueSport’s customizable community model, the partnership will launch with the delivery of character development and athlete health content, allowing Hillside Connection to incorporate TrueSport philosophies into their athlete development practices and coaching education model. Click here to read more.
Hillside Connection offers a unique opportunity for Colorado Springs youth sports amid dwindling numbers across America
Youth sports are dying across America.
It has become an estimated $17 billion industry thriving on the pocketbooks of upper-class families eager to set their child on the right path — namely, the path to a college scholarship, according to a 2018 study by The Aspen. Click here to read more.
Hillside Connection provides elite training free of charge for Colorado Springs youth
Senior forward Donta Dawson stands on the sideline of a Hillside Community Center court and watches a group of sixth- and seventh-grade basketball players scrimmage.
Among the preteens is his 9-year-old brother Ki’sean, playing the post.
Ki’sean’s 5-foot-5 frame and size 11 men’s sneakers blend seamlessly with the older bunch. And combined with his athleticism and training from coaches at Hillside Connection you’d never guess he was nearly three years their junior. Click here to read more.
Harrison’s Jaylean Franck exhibits leadership off the court
The Class 4A state basketball playoffs didn’t end how Harrison High School senior Jaylean Franck hoped, but off the court, he strives to assure his career outside the lines proceeds as planned.
The Panthers senior emerged from the locker room March 4 at Thorpe Gymnasium with his head held high, proud of what the team accomplished. Franck could see that the 58-54 loss to Pueblo West symbolized the end of a chapter — not of his story. Click here to read more.
Program combines basketball, resilience for kids in Springs
The language of basketball has a few new expressions. “You got this,” the swishing net whispers. “You are a strong person,” reminds the rimming hoop. “Let’s go!” the dribbling shouts. Click here to read more.
Colorado Springs elementary students learn to 'be a star' from Paralympic Gold Medalist during Spring Break Camp
Though he was born without legs, Trevon Jenifer was treated like everyone else in his family.
"But when you're out in the community, you're viewed kind of differently," he said. Click here to read more.
Olympic stars take the court with Colorado Springs kids
On Saturday morning, a group of Colorado Springs kids got the chance to shoot hoops with a couple of America's Olympic basketball stars. Click here to read more.
Collection: Hillside Connection begins summer league games
The Hillside Connection 3-on-3 Summer League commenced over the weekend with a slew of participants competing at Memorial Park. The event features more than 15 teams and will run through June. Here are photos from the opening weekend of action. Click here to read more.
Hillside Community Center creates champions
Sometimes life has a funny way of bringing things around full circle. When he was growing up, Terrell Brown, 26, went to Hillside
Community Center most days to play basketball. The courts at the center and neighboring Memorial Park were his “safe haven.”
Brown says playing on the courts in his community was a privilege. Parks staff traded him court time for service, like helping the elderly or serving food at the food program. Joan Clemons, now Hillside’s director, recalls with a chuckle, “[Brown] would come to the center and say, ‘Oooh Ms. Joan, can I please, please get on the court?’” And, she’d respond, “OK Terrell, sweep the gym floor and you can get on.” Click here to read more.
Basketball program teaches skills on court, in life
The Palmer Terrors were off to a strong 4-0 start as of Jan. 21. That put the talented sixth-grade squad at the top of its bracket for the 2019 Denver-based Gold Crown Competitive Basketball Program. The silver division pits the Terrors against teams from Littleton, Castle Rock and Parker. And it all put a grin on Terrell Brown’s face. “We really have a talented pool of kids,” he said. “There are some kids you’ll be hearing about” in the future. Click here to read more.
2019 Rising Star: Terrell Brown
Colorado Springs native Terrell Brown grew up in the Hillside neighborhood and graduated from Palmer High School. He was a pretty good basketball player, and decided to take his shot at Division I. “I went to three colleges in four years,” he recalled. “Started at South Dakota, then transferred to Otero Junior College in La Junta, and finished up at Montana State-Bozeman.” Click here to read more.
College conferences, Hillside partner on free youth sports clinic
“This year we wanted to go to Hillside to reach more kids,” said Carolayne Henry, senior associate commissioner for governance and legal affairs with the Mountain West Conference. “We want people to know athletics are in the community. Click here to read more.
Terrell Brown as one of Mayor's Young Leader Award Winners in 2017
The Mayor's Young Leader Awards highlight the outstanding achievements of young professionals in the Pikes Peak Region. Five individuals will be awarded for the extraordinary efforts in their field while making a positive impact in our community. Click here to read more.
Colorado HS standout Terrell Brown overcomes a nightmare to live his dream and earn degree
I have been a basketball trainer since 2004, but I have been around college basketball my entire life. I am the son of a high major college coach for over 30 years, the brother of a Division I college basketball player, and current college coach. I am the cousin of one ofJohn Calipari’s one-and-dones. Along with all of that I played Division I basketball and coached small college basketball as well. Click here to read more.
Brown has a ball teaching life lessons
Born in Colorado Springs, Terrell Brown’s life hasn’t gone exactly as planned but, in some ways, it’s been better than he expected. While he’s faced some blocked shots, he’s grown from them. Brown’s also brought his passion for volunteering to help better the lives of kids in his old neighborhood in Southeast Colorado Springs. Click here to read more.
Youth outreach program, led by former Palmer basketball player, learns 3x3 technique from nation's top U18 players
Eleven-year-old Jaylen Brantley was not shy about showing off his skills at a USA Basketball clinic in front of the top high school basketball talent in the nation. Click here to read more.
Voyage Dallas Magazine - Meet Terrell Brown of Hillside Connection
Today we’d like to introduce you to Terrell Brown.
1999-2008, Nathan Brown served as a youth basketball coach for underprivileged kids in Southeast Colorado Springs. Growing up, the Hillside Community Center and the game of basketball saved his son, Terrell Brown, from falling victim to the environment he grew up in. After overcoming several obstacles both athletically and personally, Terrell was determined to return home and use sports as a tool to convene and empower youth. Click here to read more.
Give!: Hillside Connection leaves it all on the court
By itself, a basketball is little more than an inflatable rubber bladder, wrapped in fibers and covered in leather to be bounced, passed, shot or dunked into an 18-inch-diameter hoop.
But in the hands of a disadvantaged kid, a basketball can be much more.
That was the thought behind Hillside Connection, a nonprofit organization that uses basketball to teach important life skills and create pathways for underprivileged kids in southern Colorado Springs. Click here to read more.