Hello!

After several years of planning, we were finally able to make our first basketball trip to Puerto Rico last summer. Thanks again to all of the generous donors that helped make this happen!

We had great success on our last trip not only with basketball, but with personal development. We brought six teenage boys on the trip and it's safe to say that each one of them experienced personal growth during this trip far beyond basketball.

This year we plan to make the trip again to San Juan and we would also like to expand the tip to Ponce! With your help and generosity we can make this trip possible once again.

Thank you for your support!

Respectfully,

Daniel Huck

Below is a summary of our trip in 2023...

We returned from our trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico Monday evening. Let me extend a huge thank you once again to each of you for helping to make this happen! There is no doubt this trip will have a substantial positive impact on the lives of everyone who was on the trip, including myself.

The primary purpose of this trip was for the boys to play a basketball tournament at the Y in San Juan on Saturday. The tournament was scheduled to be a FIBA 3x3 tournament. Our boys practiced 3x3 leading up to the event, however the FIBA rules were new to us.

The Y had an instructor spend time with our team on Saturday morning to explain the rules prior to the tournament. Everyone at the Y in San Juan was very gracious with us and helped us in every way that they could. To say they went above and beyond with their hospitality would be an understatement.

When our instruction was completed, the tournament was set to begin. We had six boys on our team and they were split into two teams of three. Both teams ended up doing very well and they faced off in the Championship. When it was all said and done the white team won first place.

One side note, the gym at their Y has no A/C. This was a wake up call for our boys as they are used to air conditioned gyms in the States. You could see the impact it had on them. They got fatigued much quicker. It was over 90 degrees outside and it felt like it was 90 degrees inside. This was however one of the experiences I wanted them to take away from their trip…they need to appreciate what they have back home.

Aside from basketball we wanted to boys to be introduced to the Puerto Rican culture. We were able to do that with two trips into old San Juan and a trip to Pinones.

When we were in Old San Juan they were able to spend time at the old fort and walk around down town. The colors, the streets, the people, the food, the music, everything was amazing. We were able to see multiple historical landmarks and soak it all in together.

Pinones is a beach area with many, many little restaurants/huts on the side of the road. Most of the huts cook their food with wood burning ovens just yards away from the ocean. This was another unforgettable experience with the views and the food. The food was top notch!

The last thing we did to wrap up the trip was a beach clean up close to where we stayed. Just like in the States, people have no problem leaving their trash on the beach. We had the boys put on a pair of gloves and spend about an hour picking up trash prior to checking out of our residence.

Again, many thanks to everyone who made this trip possible. We are looking forward to doing this trip again next year and adding more value to the trip for the boys. We all experienced a trip we will never forget that added value to our lives…thank you, thank you, thank you!!