PROFILES IN ACHIEVEMENT
Salam Stars (2019-20): Top row, left to right: Kishmala Arshad, Ayishah Ayub, Zainab Malik, Ameera Jaber, Jumana Badwan, Hooda Hasan, and Basmallah Salahat. The bottom row, from left to right: Heba Dalieh, Sana Abubaker, Esraa Salim, and Lily Hamed (Photo by Najma Abdi)
Stars in Scarves The Salam Stars of Milwaukee’s Salam School are putting hijabi hoopers on the map. BY HABEEBA HUSAIN
A
girls’ basketball team that didn’t see support even from their own classmates has blossomed into their school’s pride as the squad improved their skills, recorded wins and attracted national attention. “All throughout middle school, we never won a game,” says alumna Safiya Schaub, Class of 2019 and team captain of the Salam Stars. She played center as a student and returned the following year to coach the younger teams while pursuing her college degree. During her sophomore year, newly hired head coach Kassidi “Coach Kass” Macak, a Milwaukee native and former college basketball player, saw the girls’ potential but needed a lot more gym time to tap into it. Salam School had one elementary-sized gym that nine competitive teams rationed out for practices throughout the week. Adamant about turning the team around, she got the girls a daily practice slot instead of the 2-3 times a week to which they were accustomed. As she expected, they improved quickly. “I hit the sweet spot — it was a good time for me to come in,” says Macak. “Those girls
Safiya Schaub in action
were committed, they wanted to get better… they didn’t want to be the ‘joke’ of the school.” Soon enough, the Salam Stars attracted fans, tallied wins and caught the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s front-page attention. The Stars thought that was their five minutes of fame — their picture on the front page — and that was that. But soon enough, reporters from The Washington Post, CNN and Bleacher Report contacted school athletic director David Petrick to meet them. “We were blown away, our little Muslim
school,” says Petrick. “We had a very good team, and Coach Kass is a very dynamic individual. We are very lucky to have found her and included her as a part of our team.” Petrick, who joined Salam School in the early 2000s as a physical education teacher, set the foundation that put the girls’ team in motion. He first established the boys’ basketball team, despite the school’s lack of a regulation-sized court. “Our first basketball game we ever had here, I ended up taping the court with floor tape so that we could actually play a game… taping a circle is very difficult,” he said. “I did it all on my hands and knees — I was younger then and more ambitious.” The teams had their share of blowout losses, but the players were dedicated. When the girls approached Petrick to establish a team of their own, he knew he would have to overcome hurdles with some conservative community members. The decision was made to have a girls’ team, as long as they played within a closed gym and had zero male spectators. As the team improved, Petrick pleaded with the community to allow men to watch the games, since the girls would be covered in long sleeves, pants and scarves. As a father of two girls, he said he wouldn’t want to miss those special in-game moments and emotions. “Hats off to the [Islamic Society of Milwaukee] shura. This community is quite diverse,” he said. “They agreed.” However, home games were still not allowed since visiting teams’ uniforms could
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 ISLAMIC HORIZONS 41
