New sports-centered OASIS event in Pittsburgh aims to help student athletes succeed

Building inclusive and winning teams: that’s the goal of a first-of-its-kind event starting in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. It’s called OASIS, and it’s bringing together leaders and professionals from several avenues to discuss where education and sports align, and how we can make it all better.

Pittsburgh is the City of Champions, with a rich history in sports, industry, technology, arts and medicine. So what better place to bring people from all walks of life together to start a dialogue?

OASIS is the work of Orange Arrow, a non-profit committed to helping young student-athletes succeed off the field. OASIS is an acronym for Orange Arrow Symposium in Sports.

“Sports is often an opportunity to bring people together,” said Orange Arrow founder Shawn Robinson. “We’re divided by so many different things from race, politics, sex, the list goes on and on. But building on that fact that sports can bring people together, let’s bring the adults and those industries together to share best practices because it’s needed.”

Robinson is a former college athlete himself and knows sports, especially in Pittsburgh, bring people together. He hopes people will leave OASIS with strategies, commitments and new ideas to create a better society.

“Potentially have the adults learn from each other, but also maybe think differently about how they’re engaging, maybe how they’re approaching, how they do their work. Because a better person, a better leader, a better mentor is going to be better for the student and society as a whole,” Robinson said.

Over three days, OASIS is offering discussions and events on topics like youth sports, team building, a winning mindset and mental health.

It’ll feature more than 40 speakers including former Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert, Pitt Head Volleyball Coach Dan Fisher, and Carlow College President Dr. Kathy Humphries.

Current Pitt football players Ryan Jacoby and Keye Thompson are volunteers with Orange Arrow. Both are excited about being at OASIS.

“There’s going to be a lot of connections there,” Thompson said. “A lot of intelligent people, a lot of higher-ranked people. So I’m obviously getting there and getting the connections and communicating with them and seeing what they have to say to us. It’s a big thing.”

Thompson and Jacoby plan to take what they learn at the event back to the kids they mentor.

“I hope that they can see that what we’re saying is really important,” Jacoby added. “We’re all athletes, and growing up, it really is a melting pot in the locker room. So being diverse at a young age can help everybody because everybody comes from different walks of life. So it’s good to see everybody’s life and see through their eyes a little bit.”

“The heart of Orange Arrow is supporting young people, but building upon the success and the opportunity to engage the adults in this space as well, it’s really about doubling down on the good. How can we impact the world so it’s better for all?” Robinson said. “And so it’s really being a rescue to the young people and a resource to the adults as well, and knowing our sweet spot is that intersection between sports and education.”

OASIS runs July 9-11 at the David L. Lawrence Hall on Pitt’s campus.  For more information about the event and tickets, click here.

For more information on Orange Arrow, click here.

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