SHANGHAI: Atlanta Hawks shooting guard Josh Childress once boasted about his slam-dunk over Houston Rockets' centre Yao Ming during the 2005-2006 NBA season.

But when he stepped onto a basketball court in Shanghai, Yao's hometown, on Friday, the 23-year-old American realized that he did not have to beat Yao to feel good about himself as he was teaching kids to enjoy basketball.

Childress joined "Basketball without Borders" at Shanghai Sports Institute, a basketball camp for young players from around Asia.

"That dunk (against Yao) was cool, but now I am thinking about how to coach kids to play better basketball," he said during the camp's opening ceremony. The event runs until Sunday.

"I think this is actually one of the best ideas I have ever had and it is a big thing in my career."

In its second year in China, the programme has brought together 46 promising young players under 19 from across Asia.

Joining Childress on the coaching board are Toronto Raptors centre Matt Bonner and Orlando Magic sharp shooter Pat Garrity,

Houston Rockets guard Richie Frahm, Portland Trail Blazers centre Ha Seung-Jin and Philadelphia 76ers centre Samuel Dalembert are also there.

Rockets' assistant coach Dean Cooper leads the camp as director with retired NBA stars Sam Perkins and Jerome Williams also making their appearance.

"It's great when basketball becomes the common language," said Childress, who was drafted by Hawks in 2004 and has scored an average 10.1 points over his two seasons.

"I was impressed by how fast the kids improve. That takes me back to my early years."

The teenage players are divided into teams without regard to nationality.

They share living quarters with their new team-mates and participate in daily motivational life-skills seminars, which aim to promote their leadership qualities, personalities and HIV/AIDS awareness.

As a part of the programme, the Special Olympic basketball clinic took place on Friday afternoon with a total of 100 Special Olympics athletes aged 8 to 14 joining the session.

On Saturday, a dedication ceremony for the NBA Cares Legacy Project will be staged at Fusheng School, which has been built for children of migrant workers.

The project includes the refurbishment of the school's basketball court and the creation of a new NBA Cares Learn and Play Centre.

This consists of a multimedia room with 20 computers, a library stocked with 2,000 books and the creation of two new classrooms.

This is the second learn and play centre to open in China. The country's first one is at Huilei Migrant School in Beijing.

Source: China Daily