Polish Shootout founders: Pawel Mrozik i Marek Zielinski

History

We were both born in the city of Lublin, and we got to know each other as fourth graders while playing for the same team, first MKS Orlik Lublin and later at a club team AZS Lublin. For years we have been fascinated with American basketball, especially college basketball - NCAA. We both agree on a fact that NCAA represent the best choice for a young basketball prospects willing to get higher education and experience basketball on the highest level. Each of us also was able to follow our dreams and become a student athlete in the American colleges. Paweł Mrozik played and graduated from Western Nebraska Community College, while Marek Zielinski was a member of basketball program at Longwood University. In result we were able to live our dreams playing basketball at American college and receive higher education.

Idea for the foundation of the camp emerged in summer of 2001. We were driven by willingness of putting together something creative that hadn?t taken place in our country yet. Plus, we also wanted to help all those young talented players that dream about playing college basketball in the United States. We realized how big basketball potential does Poland as a European country poses. We knew structure of such basketball camps because they are common in the United States and are becoming more popular in Europe. We decided to organize a camp for basketball prospects in Poland, being aware of a opportunity that every participant of a camp faces. Polish Shootout gave us a vision how could Polish basketball look in the future. Considering difficulties which young basketball players face in Poland such as breaking through professional basketball clutter, we figured out that our camp will provide an alternative for young players and will create opportunity for becoming a student athlete in the United States. Practice of sending young foreign players to American colleges is becoming more popular every year, and we think Poland should not be left behind. In result players have opportunity to work on their skills with experts and receive education in the same time. We believe that education playes very important role in every athlete?s life, because sports career will not last for decades and in the worst scenario may be ended by permanent injury. That?s why we think career in the NCAA provides athletes with best option of two educations; athletic and scholastic. Therefore, Polish Shootout and its related services provide great opportunity for American college basketball recruiters as well as for Polish basketball prospects by bringing those two groups together.