Innocent Kwizera Muhoozi, is a Rwandan who has made a name for himself in India as a talented basketball player and trainer. It’s through this skill that he yearned to train people in this sport that he founded a company known as Hoops Genesis Ventures. The 33-year old wears many caps, he is a qualified FIBA-The International Basketball Federation coach, speaker and community leader, professional computer programmer and web developer in JavaScript, Groovy and Grails, football player and coach, guitarist and drummer, the list is endless. His firm deals in advancing the quality of youth and adult expansion through sports skill training, team building, community outreach, and events management. “I coach basketball to children and adults from age six to 60, manage sports events for corporate companies, craft various sports leagues, boost under-privileged talents by providing free sports coaching throughout the year. I work with students in mental health field,” states Muhoozi. His love for sports The basketball coach recalls having a tough childhood, losing his mother at the age of 12 instigated bullying both at school and home, that he almost committed suicide at the age of 16. “Sports was my refugee and I put in a lot of work to excel at it. With the help of some great friends, I learned a lot of football and basketball skills,” he says. He started playing basketball consistently in 2002, switching from football. According to him, it didn’t take him long to master basketball considering he had a history in sports as he played football and athletics – 200 metres. Luck knocked on his door when he acquired a full sports scholarship to study with the intent to keep his life around sports. According to him, his mother’s legacy and how passionately she is spoken about has always led him to rethink his personal life values to serve the community. “My mother helped many people with shelter regardless of the age. She welcomed all kinds of people, relatives and strangers, and she is remembered for her generosity. I look forward to also leave a legacy,” Muhoozi emphasises. The rise of his academy While in India in 2015, he says that his mentors assisted him to realise his abilities and thus worked hand-in-hand to setup a basketball academy dubbed, Hoops Genesis Basketball. The academy is built on values such as respect, discipline, teamwork, unity and most of all, love for one another, he adds. The sports expert stresses that his goal is to avail the best possible sports training to the deepest part of the community while developing great athletes, leaders and appreciable people all over the world through sports. He notes that so far he and the team have done a good job in Bangalore, India and now hoping to carry on the same, or even bigger duty in Rwanda. “We have already signed a MOU with FERWABA- the Rwanda Basketball Federation to help most especially student athletes. With this partnership, we plan to carry out various basketball camps in Rwanda and develop basketball at the grassroots level,” Muhoozi states. So far, he highlights that preparations are in place to carry out the first camp in Kigali in December, which will be for free for the youth from ages 12 to 17.This, he says, will mark the entry of the academy into Rwanda to have work done around the country year-round, he believes in consistency. Life as a basketball coach Muhoozi believes that being a basketball coach has enabled him to interact closely with people from all walks of life and equipped him with skills of being an overall teacher. But most importantly, his desire is to share his life story with others with hope to motivate them and show them that brokenness can be a blessing and out of it can arise little miracles and meaningful experiences, if you possess an open-heart (kindness, love and honesty). He explains that his experience as a coach is challenging yet fulfilling. “You will also learn that you don’t know as much as you think you do. Best times for me have been seeing our students graduate from school with honors, while others play for their states and respective national teams, and many become amazing actors and others leaders in the community.” Challenges, inspiration As a sportsman, Muhoozi is disappointed that the domain is not taken seriously—there is stigma of parents undervaluing sports with the claim of it being a wastage of time, in addition to little support and lack of facilities to carry out the work. He is inspired by his late mother’s gesture of kindness and the little kids way back in school who bullied him and continually told him that he would never amount to anything great—he has proved them wrong. The professional basketballer also looked up to the late Dr. Chip Kingery, the founder of Provision Asia— an NGO that empowers people with disabilities in India, he taught him what it means to be a humanitarian. Future plans For now, Muhoozi explains that the plan is to create a strong grassroots program in Rwanda by providing camps, school and various resources to get the youth empowered and have them build a strong foundation for tomorrow’s leaders. “I am always available to assist the youth and call upon other community leaders to join hands as we support each other to fight issues like mental health,” he says. You can reach him via Instagram @hoopsgenesis
