Something Special

At a basketball court in PS 163 in Manhattan, Nate McGrory stands at the three point line.

Dribbling a basketball, he talks to the 10 basketball players assembled in front of him. “When I get the ball, take a step towards me. You want to take one step toward the ball as soon as your man gets it.” Nate is introducing the fundamentals of zone defense to a group of 11 and 12 year olds. “When rebounding, there’s no man to box out. You have to stay in your zone.”

Teaching zone defense is a new addition to the Champions Division, part of the Safe Haven West Side Basketball League. But then again the Champions Division has never minded trying new things. It is the only basketball league on the Upper West Side that accommodates players with special needs. Nate, himself only 16, is one of the coaches and also the son of the head of the program, Ken McGrory.

The Champions Division accommodates children from all five boroughs and has seen over 110 children come through the doors of the gym since the start.

“When the division started in 1999, there were 20 kids, and we were given an hour and a half of gym time to put together teams and skillbuilding drills,”

Ken remembers. “Now, we need six hours of gym time for everybody to participate. The division has grown in ways we never imagined: athletically, socially. Parents are seeing their kids accomplish skills beyond their own wildest dreams.”

Ken tries to supplement his coaching style with any and all volunteers. “The way we started teaching the kids was that my children and some teenage volunteers came in to be assistant coaches called ‘Buddies.’” During games, Buddies will move players into proper position, or stop the game to explain why a foul was called.

Older or advanced players Buddy-up in the division below them. They have enough skills to teach the younger ones, and it reinforces the Buddy’s own skills. The kids accept coaching better when it’s coming from one of their own than from a parent.

Brian Hammer and brothers Justin and Brian Mauer are three products of the Buddy system. Friends since first grade, the 13-yearolds have participated as both players and now Buddies within the Champions Division. The boys enjoy taking a bit of control in the development of the younger generation of players.

Says Brian Mauer, “It’s fun seeing kids grow and become better basketball players.”

Justin adds, “I like being a Buddy because I love kids, I love to see the kids get energized. It’s cool.”

Nate McGrory has involved his friends in the coaching process and they love it. “My friends jumped at the opportunity. They saw how much fun the kids had, and being able to help them grow is a great opportunity to grow.”

A point guard on the City College High School for Math, Science, and Engineering basketball team, Nate credits working with the children in a Buddy role for 10 years for developing his basketball skills. “This is where I learned my whole basketball game. My dad wouldn’t let me shoot during the games so I worked on dribbling and looking for the open man. If a kid hasn’t gotten a shot in a couple possessions, or someone is playing shy, I try and get him involved, and all of my players involved.”

With four age classes, some of the competition can be intense. Players are divided into teams by talent level as well as age, but there is room to accommodate everybody. Ken elaborates, “There are the rising stars, ages 6 through 11, who are usually brand new to sports. Next is the juniors, ages 11 to 15, depending on size, ability, but also friendships—we are quite flexible about where a child will be placed. The senior groups, usually ages 15 to 24, play a very good game of basketball. I’m going to have to start charging admission ’cause the games are so much fun,” Ken describes.

On my visit to the Champions Division, the games were as exciting as advertised. The team named North Carolina, headed by point guard Jared Fair, defeated the Michigan State squad despite a strong game by Jason Weiss, who had 15 rebounds, 8 points and 5 assists in a valiant effort.

Ken doesn’t necessarily love keeping score. “The kids are as competitive as anybody else. I want the score to be tied,” he laughs. “I hate to see the kids go home disappointed. We try and make them feel proud about what they did in the game.”

Jason’s father Larry is grateful for this opportunity. Jason, 17 years old, has been playing in the Champions Division for five years. “The program has helped my son and the rest of the team focus and develop their concentration levels and coordination,” Larry says. “I’ve seen this group grow.

They develop a sense of camaraderie. Playing here opens up their world.”

James Fair is the father of Jared, 18, one of the more athletically gifted players in the league. “Jared has been in the league for four years and he also plays for his school, the Hallen School,” James says.

Playing here has given him confidence in being more physical on the court, to experiment with different moves and not feel pressured by his high school coaches.

Rhonda Havre is the mother of 19-yearold Donald, a senior level player. She runs the scoreboard during the game while her husband, also named Donald, coaches one of the senior league teams. She believes that Jared’s development is a function of how Ken runs the games and practices. “Ken sets the teams up so that there are aggressive players on all the teams, average players on all the teams, and so on,” Rhonda says. “We find that the better players feed to the lesser players, the guys without dribbling abilities. They try and set up those children so that during the course of the game they make a basket and feel good.”

“You have to mention that the heart and soul of the program is Rhonda,” Ken asserts. “She is the administrative backbone of the organization. She’s in charge of every single organizational detail. She emails the parents and the volunteers. She coordinates the whole show.”

Parents aren’t the only ones volunteering their time. The HarlemSEALS are a community outreach organization that dedicates time to referee games. Dwight Norton, executive director of the Harlem Seals, has the attitude that most volunteers without children in the program share. “Every Saturday morning, at 9:30 sharp, we are down here refereeing. How can we expect people to help our organization if we don’t go out and help others?” Coach Ken gives back to the SEALS; on the website he is listed as on the board of directors and has helped the SEALS organize their charitable program.

The basektball program is the most popular of the three different West Side special needs sports divisions, and many of the parents attribute that to Ken. Karel Karpe, who runs the baseball program, gushes: “There aren’t words to describe him. He’s amazing. Coach Ken is a rare gem.”

Bill McMahon’s son Niall plays in the senior division and used to be a special education teacher. “Ken does an excellent job. He brings everybody’s spirits up, he welcomes everybody and he encourages the children to play. Ken makes them better players and persons. His whole family has been involved. You give them a lot of credit for what they’ve done.”

Girls make up a small percentage of the league and their numbers are growing. Emma Jenkins is 19 and enjoys playing with the boys. “My favorite part of the league is just playing with everybody and getting a chance to play. I’ve gotten better skills.” Unlike many of the boys, she enjoys college basketball more than its professional counterpart. “I root for Colgate,” she says.

David Trujillo, an 18-year-old in the senior class, doesn’t care so much about following either college or professional basketball. His attitude is much more loose and is evocative of the spirit of the entire program: “I don’t have a favorite player, I just play.”

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Information on enrolling or volunteering in the Champions Division can be found at www.safehavenhoops.org.