In 2016, Hi 5 started its first tribal boarding school programme at an ashramshala in Vajreshwari, Maharashtra, and built a basketball court there in 2017. Among its first players was Yogita Baswat, who within two months, was winning at a district tournament in Pune. Today, she coaches at the same ashramshala, the first tribal girl from the programme to become a coach, while pursuing her undergraduate degree, also becoming a first generation to do that from her community.
Founded in 2015, Hi 5 Youth Foundation is a professional sports non-profit organisation dedicated to providing basketball training to underprivileged and tribal children. Through its multi-year programmes, the foundation develops young children into skilled players and successful school teams, equipping them to leverage their achievements on the basketball court towards obtaining a college degree and enhancing their economic prospects. The foundation currently reaches over 5,000 children across 36 government and tribal boarding school centres in 9 states.
Building Confidence Through Structured Sports Training
At the heart of this work is Hope Thru Hoops, a multi-year programme of professional coaching and competitive exposure. Selected children train as school teams and compete regularly, including in the Intra Hi 5 League, where more than 180 teams play at the Under-12, Under-14, Under-17 and open levels. Girls make up 50% of participants.
The results show what sustained training can achieve. In 2025-26, 397 Hi 5 players were selected to represent their districts at State Championships across Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and other states. 45 were selected to compete at the national level, and Hi 5 teams recorded 119 podium finishes.
Connecting Sports with Education and Careers
Through Pathways to Success, the foundation supports students with higher education, internships and practical training. In 2015, six boys from a municipal school in Goregaon, Mumbai, stepped onto a Hi 5 court. They went on to win district tournaments, reach junior college through sports quotas, and turn Hi 5 internships into careers. Today, Rakesh, Mairaj, Ajit, Raju and Saddam are full-time Hi 5 coaches, and Tasleem is part of the operations team. All of them have completed their graduation. Many more alumni have followed, and this year Hi 5 launched a livelihood training programme to prepare more young people as coaches.
Strengthening the Future of Grassroots Sports
Building a sporting nation requires five pillars: grassroots participation, coach development, elite player development, infrastructure and competitive platforms. Hi 5 works across the first four. It builds school teams, develops coaches, builds school courts, and is now developing the Hi 5 Basketball Academy at Shahpur, a one-of-a-kind residential academy for tribal children, currently under construction. Hi 5 players feed into the fifth, led by state associations and government bodies, every year through formal selections.
Hi 5’s vision is to be the leading basketball development programme that uplifts underprivileged communities. Its mission is to grow the sport of basketball in the country and establish a professional, scalable, sustainable sports enterprise that uplifts underprivileged and tribal youth.
Hi 5 Youth Foundation welcomes CSR partners, schools and supporters who want to help build this pathway, from the first school court to the Academy.
