Around the UFT
Shooting for success
District 25 All Star BasketballShowcase is about more than hoops
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Jonathan Fickies
The action is fast and furious
The District 25 Basketball League is about more than just fun and games.
“For some kids, it provides the drive to come to school every day,” said Joe Kessler, the coach at PS 107 in Flushing and also the UFT District 25 representative. “Sometimes, it’s about keeping a kid who could go the wrong way on the right path in life.”
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Jonathan Fickies
PS 214 physical education teacher Ed Acampado calls out instructions to the Blue team.
The coed league, which has been around for 25 years, includes teams and cheerleaders from 16 of the district’s schools. The excitement it generates was on display on May 12, when the league staged its All Star Basketball Showcase at Martin Van Buren HS in Queens Village.
Some 600 students, parents and educators attended the game, which featured two 4th- or 5th-graders from each participating school and performances by the cheerleaders. Also, each school had a representative in the halftime layup and foul-shooting contests.
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Jonathan Fickies
PS 154 teacher Danielle Vincent (left) and coach Brigette Bar eld prep their cheerleaders.
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Jonathan Fickies
Joyce E. Bush, the principal of PS 193 and the league commissioner, gets set to toss up the ceremonial jump ball, while (from left) Van Buren HS Principal Sam Sochet, UFT President Michael Mulgrew and District 25 Superintendent Danielle DiMango look on.
While scores are kept during games, there is no champion during the season because the point of the league is to emphasize the bigger picture.
“These kids are student athletes,” Kessler said. “They have to maintain their grades and behavior, and understand that when they wear their uniforms they are representatives of their schools.”
Maria Lastres, the cheerleading coach at PS/MS 200, agreed.
“It impacts the students in many ways,” she said. “My captain was extremely shy before she got involved, and her mother told me, ‘You have no idea what this has done for my daughter. Now she’s outgoing, has self-confidence and is doing better in school.’”