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Eight young people and two adults walk across a car park wearing Guardian Ballers vests and holding litter pickers and bags.
  • Does your club or community group offer sport and physical activity programmes to support young people from underserved communities?
  • How can sport and physical activity improve young people’s wellbeing and mental health?

Across England, many young people are experiencing challenges with their mental and physical health. 

Some of them face additional barriers because of their socio-economic status, ethnicity or gender. 

For many, one, or a combination, of these barriers can make it difficult to take part in sport and physical activity.

We connected with Kieran Joseph, founder and CEO of Guardian Ballers, and Julia Musialik, marketing and communications officer, to find out how they’re engaging and empowering young people aged 10-25 through after-school basketball sessions and interactive wellbeing interventions.

Short on time? Guardian Ballers have given us their top tips to help you get started.

Top tips

Build a strong board

It's important to bring together people with different skills and experiences as early as possible. 

Having people around the table, with difference specialisms, can help you make better decisions as your organisation grows. 

Diversity in thought and experience is powerful, particularly when you’re trying to engage new people and communities. 

Think about income early

Grassroots sports clubs and community organisations should think about different ways of generating income as soon as they’re able.

They could consider commissioned work and long-term partnerships or sponsorships as a means to being financially sustainable.

Learn from others

You don't have to work everything out on your own. 

Find mentors, speak to other organisations and draw knowledge from leaders in the sector or people who have faced similar challenges to your club or community organisation.

“It’s important to stand on the shoulder of giants.” 

Girls stand in a row on a playground holding up basketballs.

Who are Guardian Ballers?

Headquartered in Coventry, Guardian Ballers was founded in 2021 by former PE teacher Kieran, with operations spanning Warwickshire and Wales. 

The vision for Guardian Ballers was birthed a couple of years earlier, following Kieran’s experiences travelling to Rwanda and South Africa. 

These experiences broadened his understanding of the potential to create meaningful change across communities and generations, inspiring him to explore how sport could be used as a powerful tool to transform lives.

Kieran returned with a vision, and with funding from Untld, turned his vision into a reality. He launched Guardian Ballers in March 2021 across three schools, in partnership with Coventry and Warwickshire Mind (CWW). 

Since then, the organisation has grown and now delivers basketball and wellbeing programmes across Coventry, Warwickshire and Wales, supported by a team of paid staff and volunteers.

At the centre of Guardian Ballers is their BALL, BE, BETTER model.

  • BALL focuses on getting young people involved in basketball, helping them to enjoy physical activity and develop through the sport.
  • BE goes beyond sport and basketball, focussing on education and supporting young people to explore their wellbeing, confidence and identity.
  • BETTER encourages young people to think about the difference they can make in their communities through volunteering with local charities and community organisations.

Together the model allows Guardian Ballers to use basketball as a starting point to engage young people facing various barriers, and achieve their mission of transforming lives through sport and education. 

How do Guardian Ballers engage young people?

Guardian Ballers focus on engaging young people (aged 10-25) from three groups: those from global majority backgrounds, lower-income households and young girls and women. They do this through:

  • Delivering targeted sessions

    Guardian Ballers offers tailored programmes around the needs of different populations.

    An example is their ‘GymBros’ project, which offers gym and mentoring sessions, in partnership with CWW Mind, for young black men aged 15 to 25. 

    They also offer girls-only basketball sessions to minimise the barriers experienced by young girls and women when accessing sport and physical activity. 

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  • Putting wellbeing first

    Mental health and wellbeing are a key part of Guardian Ballers’ programmes. 

    Sport can help start conversations and be a good entry point for young people to build confidence and develop relationships. 

    They advocate for open communication, provide relevant support and foster environments that are safe and encouraging.

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  • Working with schools and families

    Partnerships with schools across Coventry and Warwickshire help Guardian Ballers reach more young people. 

    They also promote referral routes to give parents another way of connecting young people with the organisation.

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  • Listening and responding

    Guardian Ballers often ask their participants for recommendations and feedback to shape their programmes. 

    For example, their girls-only basketball sessions are led by women, helping to create spaces where female participants from different backgrounds and communities can feel comfortable taking part.

    "Youth voice is a common buzz word we hear today. But what do young people actually want to speak about?"

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What challenges have Guardian Ballers faced?

Guardian Ballers' mission is clear, and their work to achieve it is relentless. This kind of impactful community work comes with challenges.

Recruiting the right people

As the organisation has grown, finding people with the right skills and experience has become increasingly important to help Guardian Ballers continue to deliver high-quality programmes and wellbeing sessions.

Building relevant skills

When Guardian Ballers began, their main priority was on the delivery of their programmes. 

However, as the organisation grew, the founder and wider team understood that more specialised skills were required for sustainable growth, particularly around finance, income generation and governance.

"When we started our focus was on the quality of the programme, not on income. I had to become more competent in financial literacy."

Managing safeguarding

Like any youth-focused organisation, managing safeguarding is a constant challenge. 

Working closely with young people means having the right safeguarding processes and support in place as the organisation continues to grow, meet the needs of a wider community audience and address unique individual barriers.

Lack of grant funding

Early in their journey, a lack of grant funding meant that Guardian Ballers had to overcome financial difficulty and find alternative ways to generate sustainable income.

"Our hardest point was during autumn 2023. We didn’t have any grant funding, and I had to defer being paid for two months until we managed to get funding."

Two hands reach up for a basketball against a black background.

What's next?

Guardian Ballers now aim to build on what they've learnt in Coventry and develop strong community hubs around the country. 

The ambition is to create a model where each hub has sustainable local funding through a mixture of local authorities, corporate partners, commissioned work and referral pathways. 

"We want to build a high impact and sustainable organisation with £1 million turnover."

In addition to their expansion aims, Guardian Ballers are looking to diversify their sport and physical activity programmes. 

They intend to offer sessions such as football, multi-sports and other activities for new community members to engage with.