October 17, 2016
Ex-Friars build life around a game they love
By Rebecca Keister
Former Providence College women’s basketball standouts Dana Simonelli ’99 and Lucie Fontanella Morse ’94 share their success story with their New Jersey basketball clinic, Hoops360, in a way that can’t help but inspire others to follow their dreams.
The duo has the kind of repertoire — where finishing each other’s sentences flows without pause — that most business partners only can look at with jealousy.
Perhaps that’s because, in addition to sharing a vision for their business, they have developed a genuine friendship since meeting more than two decades ago.
“We’ve been able to work together through steps of creating this and to keep making a difference,” Fontanella Morse said. “I really want to add that it’s been so much fun working with Dana.”
Their venture, Hoops360, is a youth basketball organization run with a “holistic approach” to teaching and coaching through clinics held several times a year for players 5-18 years old. But leaving the description at this is akin to saying Michael Jordan was simply a good basketball player.
Since its inception in 2013, Hoops360 has worked with more than 1,500 youth players with a philosophy that the sport is loved when you “Don’t just PLAY the game, (but) DEVELOP your game!” and that this best happens when children are coached not only on game fundamentals and techniques but also on such character traits as sportsmanship, hard work, dedication and mental toughness.
The organization welcomes players of all skill levels and abilities and has worked with players on the autism spectrum and those who have Down syndrome. Sponsorships allow the organization to offer free attendance to youths whose families might not otherwise be able to send them to clinics.
“I think that over the years, people have learned to know what we stand for and know that Hoops360 is such a comfortable, positive learning environment where players can build their confidence. They get to learn and to feel good about themselves,” Fontanella Morse said.
“She’s right,” said Simonelli. “I also think our organization is a success because of knowing how to relate to kids and realizing they’re just kids, they make mistakes, and they are here to have fun and learn.”
Playing Friars basketball actually reunited Simonelli and Fontanella Morse, who met when the latter coached the former’s high school team during Simonelli’s senior year. As they both grew to consider their PC team and community a family, they forged the irreplaceable friendship that continued past graduation and to when they both found themselves back in their hometown of Toms River, N.J.
Both women were regarded as exceptional PC players. Simonelli, who made the 1997 BIG EAST Conference/Nike All-Star Team, went on to play semi-pro ball for seven years. Fontanella Morse, a member of the PC Athletics Hall of Fame, also played professional ball and ranks eighth in career scoring and 10th in rebounds.
Former PC men’s basketball player Jamel Thomas ’99 was instrumental in helping establish Hoops360 and coaches at least one clinic per year, too.
“I wanted to run a clinic and Lucie just said, ‘We’ve got do it, we’ve got to put it into action,’ and it just kind of happened,” Simonelli said. “Lucie was my coach and was a mentor to me. We share the same philosophy and mentality.”
Both women credit connections Fontanella Morse had established through coaching in creating a word-of-mouth campaign that all but eradicated the need for advertising their clinic. They also point to their genuine love of the game for helping sustain their passion and commitment to creating a difference in their community.
“What do I love about basketball?” Fontanella Morse said. “The answer to that question has changed over the years, but I think one thing that has stayed is the passion and the love. It’s just transformed into other things. “
Simonelli points to the camaraderie that forms when you are part of a team, whether that be through playing or coaching.
“It’s being around good people and teammates, and I love that whole dynamic. I love that we can impart that to young people who can go on to be coaches. It’s like a family. We talk about being a family here all the time,” she said.
