Dunktionary: Slam Dunking Your Way to Literacy

by Timothy Stanfill, Jeremy Palmer (narrator), Timothy Palmer

Founded in 1999, by Dunkaholic, Timothy Stanfill, the National Dunking Association of America (NDAA) is the only organization of its kind dedicated purely to the preservation of the dunk. Timothy Stanfill grew up in the ‘streets’ of Springfield, Massachusetts. His love for basketball and dunking started while he was a freshman in high school when he was teased for his 95 pound frame and for not being able to jump and touch the net. At age 13 he was diagnosed with dyslexia; school was difficult, so he escaped by playing basket-ball and getting into martial arts. The martial arts kept him off the streets, and taught him the discipline he needed. He reached some level of success, but when he became a member of a gang, numbers and words were not the only things he began to transpose. Things in his life began to fall apart and spin downward and he was locked up at 14 years old. During all of his struggles and strife, Tim never lost his love for dunking and basketball. Realizing that he was most likely not going pro he decided to live his dream by starting the NDAA. And because of his own experiences and the natural fascination with the game of basketball by inner city youth he began his wildly success-ful “Dunking in the Hood” camps. “Dunking in the Hood” engaged inner city youth and adults to be competitive yet enjoy camaraderie. At the same time Tim was able to help them get exercise and learn about healthy eating, while shar-ing his personal stories about dyslexia and encouraging them to pursue their own dreams.

Kindle Edition

Published December 17, 2024