PRISTINA/PEJA (Kosovo) – The children’s faces immediately lit up. Who had just walked in?
As Sonic the Hedgehog traipsed into kindergartens in Pristina and Peja, its symbolism stretched beyond a fun mascot. The beloved video game character associated with speed, was now representing speech.
Hoops & Words
“In Kosovo access to early childhood support – speech therapy, structured physical activity, quality preschool education – remains limited for many families,” Ms Edita Medunjanin, FIBA Foundation Youth Leader said.
Medunjanin is the mind behind Hoops & Words, that aims to bridge verbal deficits in young children, using basketball as the primary enabling tool.
“Rather than waiting for those gaps to close on their own, I wanted to create something that works with what we already have: community spirit, a love of sport, and the power of play,” Medunjanin emphasized.
Basketball For Health and Wellbeing
Under the larger Basketball For Good umbrella, Hoops & Words targets health and well-being, a key United Nations Sustainable Development Goal.
130 pre-school children aged 4-6 were introduced to play-based activities and subconsciously encouraged to improve their oral and motor skills, while simultaneously building teamwork and peer interaction.
“Children learn best when they are not aware they are learning. By embedding speech exercises into dribbling rhythms, team games, and the natural back-and-forth of play, we meet children in a space where they already feel free,” explained Medunjanin, highlighting the two-month research and preparation that went into designing this one-of-a-kind program.
Pioneering program
“I had never come across another initiative that specifically combined structured basketball training with speech therapy for preschool children,” said Medunjanin, who partnered with the Kosovo Basketball Federation, qualified speech therapists, local schools, and their teaching staff to execute this project from September to December 2025.
The children, 20 of whom were identified as having speech and communication difficulties, were taken through basketball maneuvers that integrated the functional transfer of language skills.
“The program demonstrated very positive results in terms of children’s engagement, motivation, and active participation, with a noticeable increase in their willingness to communicate within a social context,” speech therapist Yllka Kacandolli observed.
Professional basketball player Jeta Zeka served as an ambassador, joined by leading coach Shemsedin Bytyqi and recently retired Peja city hoops icon Valbona Bytyqi. The latter was also honored with a mural inside the kindergarten as a way of making her inspiration permanent.
“The interest in this project also went beyond the children themselves. Partners and institutions who witnessed the sessions firsthand left with a clear appetite for more. That response has given us a strong foundation to expand Hoops & Words into additional kindergartens – because what started as a pilot has proven to be something much bigger,” Medunjanin expressed.
Guidelines have been distributed to parents, providing them with practical tools on how to continue working with their children using this approach at home.
Learn more about FIBA Foundation’s Propose A Project support platform.
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The FIBA Foundation is the social and legacy arm of FIBA that addresses the role of sports and particularly basketball in society, preserving and promoting basketball’s values and its cultural heritage.
The FIBA Foundation believes that basketball has the power to empower, educate and inspire youth and facilitates this by implementing Basketball For Good projects around the world.
FIBA