We are hosting a free youth basketball clinic this Weekend!

Happy Firebirds Friday! The Firebirds Basketball Academy are hosting a free youth basketball clinic this upcoming Saturday, October 4th. Additionally, we are highlighting our partnership with the Raleigh department of Parks and Recreations. Lastly, we want to give more info about our upcoming internship openings. Let jump right into it!

Table of Contents

• Firebirds Basketball Academy!

• Community Highlight: Stephen Bentley

• More Info on Firebird’s Internship Opportunities!

Firebirds Basketball Academy!

Claim your spot in the Firebirds Basketball Academy’s 1st free community youth basketball clinic! 🏀 🔥 

Know an 11–14 year old beginner basketball player in the Triangle who’s eager to learn and grow in the game? The Raleigh Firebirds are inviting young athletes to our first-ever FREE Community Youth Basketball Clinic! This 2 hour clinic is an amazing opportunity for to learn new skills, make new friends, and have fun!

Don’t miss out, register now by scanning the QR code above! We can’t wait to see you there! 🐦‍🔥

Community Highlight: Stephen Bentley

What a great meeting with Stephen C. Bentley. 

Stephen C. Bentley is the Director of the City of Raleigh Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department and part of the City’s Management Team. With a career spanning over 20 years, he has worked for public park agencies at the federal, state and local levels of government. 

As Director of the Raleigh Parks Department, he is responsible for overseeing the mission, vision and equitable values of Raleigh’s system. For more than a decade, Stephen has worked with elected officials, community and business leaders on approximately $350M in park and recreation improvements across the City. Stephen has extensive experience in public park planning, community engagement, public space design, funding and public-private partnership strategies. 

The values that guide Stephen’s work include collaboration, inclusion and empowerment. 

Stephen has a bachelor’s degree from East Stroudsburg University in Recreation and Leisure Services Management in Pennsylvania and received his master’s degree in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Administration from Michigan State University. He holds certificates from National Recreation and Park Association’s (NRPA) Directors School, North Carolina State University Natural Resources Leadership Institute, and the University of North Carolina Municipal Administrators Program. 

Stephen is active in several national organizations and local nonprofits supporting efforts for everyone to live a healthy life. We're looking forward to a great partnership for the 2026 season with the Parks and Rec department for the city of Raleigh!!

More Info on Firebird’s Internship Opportunities!

I had a great time talking with some FUTURE leaders and bosses at North Carolina Central University 🦅Our organization has been working with NC State for years but was important for us to provide resources and opportunities to all universities within the RDU including HBCU’s. We play our home games at St Aug to intentionally pour into their cause and are proud to have formed a partnership with the illustrious North Carolina Central University!

Today we talked about all the different roles within sports as well as our sports media, marketing, and branding internship. We left campus today with over 15 new members of our Flock 🔥🦅What makes our program different is we tailor it to fit the needs and goals of our interns. This program is also open to HS JR’s and Sr’s. If you want to get more information on how you can our growing Flock, hit me in my DMs @raleighfirebirds or @ceezcapitalinreellife on Instagram🔥🦅

Make sure to stay tuned for our next edition of Firebird Focus, as we have some exciting news coming up!

Until then,

-Nicky