Brunswick student to compete in 2025 NBA Math Hoops global championship

BRUNSWICK — A student from Brunswick Schools will be one of 24 students across from the United States and Australia competing in the upcoming NBA Math Hoops global championship. Molly Majka, from Kidder Elementary School, will represent the Cavaliers Math Hoops at the event, which will take place June 24-27 in New York City alongside the NBA draft. Math Hoops was created by nonprofit Learn Fresh. Organization CEO and co-founder Nick Monzi said the program consists of a board game and math curriculum for students from fourth to eighth grade. The game board looks like a basketball court, and students draft a team of five real NBA or WNBA players using their statistics, he said. Students complete math problems to unlock court positions and use player data to take shots with the goal of accumulating the most points. "The most basic math that's covered in the game is operational fluency, which is students' ability to understand addition, subtraction, multiplication and division," Monzi said. "Then students also work on higher-level concepts with data, particularly percent decimal fraction conversion, graphing statistics and making decisions with numbers." The program allows math concepts to be introduced to students in an accessible way that feels relevant to the real world, he said. It also allows them to feel comfortable and build confidence in math in a more engaging way. "There's also the social development aspect," Monzi said. "Students are working to hone in their teamwork skills, sportsmanship and they learn how to navigate competition in a way that allows them to support their teammates and their competitors." Students like Molly were nominated by an educator to compete in the championship. To be considered eligible, students must play at least 25 games, finish 10 curriculum units and show academic growth, sportsmanship and perseverance. "One part of this experience is really about celebrating students who've shown transformative growth through the program," Monzi said. "Many of these students have maybe not been so confident with math or face other challenges in their learning process, but they have overcome that." As part of the three-day trip, students will go to the NBA draft and meet draft picks, he said. There will also be different STEM and sports workshops throughout the city to participate in. On June 27, students will go to the NBA headquarters to compete in the championship, Monzi said. They will form teams of two with a student from a different city and compete against other teams. "Many of them have also never flown before and never traveled outside of their home city or state before," he said. "I do hope that it also expands their worldview and gives them an opportunity to explore a new place with their family members and experience something new." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.