On March 1st, we visited the NBA Cares Center. It was amazing! We first went on tours and saw awesome stuff, such as a table made out of the wood from an NBA basketball court, and leather from the ball. Signed jerseys, and balls. Trophies and rings, and the coolest thing in my opinion was that they had Wilt Chamberlains game worn shoes from his historical 100 point game. After the tour, we sat down and had interviews with various people who work different roles in the organization.

We learned a lot about how we can help, and how kids are not only the future, but kids can help a lot in the present. We learned about all of the money that they give to non profit organizations. It was cool how much the NBA is making a difference in society and helping kids get into sports. The offices and the building was a really cool place and must be really fun to work in.

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On February 15th me and my group interviewed Coach David Raimer who works at basketball city and is the director of the youth sports programs. He is also the camp manager, and does personal training with kids across the city. He has been playing sports his whole life. He started with tennis and volleyball, but because of his height, he was persuaded into playing basketball. Instantly, he fell in love with teaching other kids, and knew that’s what he wanted to do. He started working at basketball city in 1998 and has grown his program a vast amount. He offers many free programs to kids, and free summer camp to kids who live in the same area as basketball city. He lets public schools use his facility for gym class if they don’t have access to a gym at their school. He also hosts tournaments for AAU (authentic athletic union) teams across the city, including big tournaments like 55’ swish, and rumble in the Bronx.

I really enjoyed this interview and we got really good information. My favorite part was hearing his favorite part of working at basketball city. This was seeing his former campers and students growing up to be pro players, or agents, or pilots for NBA teams. I thought it was really cool how he keeps in touch with people he used to coach.

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On Tuesday, January 24th, 2023, we interviewed Luis Hernandez, mainly about how he works at a girls basketball program called The City. He has worked in multiple different school sports programs and outside of school sports programs across New York City. The City had basketball programs for both boys and girls before Covid. With only one boy’s team, the City now exclusively concentrates on girls’ basketball. He explained to us that the primary reason for removing boys teams was that girls would continue their high school education at the City while the majority of guys would leave and try out for a better, and more competitive league. If the boys did not receive a lot of playing time after trying out for another team, they would want to return to the City but at that time, the City would not have any openings. Luis believed that working with students who would stick with him throughout middle and high school was a better use of his time. Luis also let us know about 2 national championships that the city had won a few years back.

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Our group met with Chris Klein on Monday, January 23rd, 2023. He works at LREI as a math teacher, a coach for boys varsity basketball, girls varsity volleyball, and a summer camp. He talked about how all kids should have the same opportunities to play sports with a variety of people coming from different backgrounds. He also spoke about how diversity can affect sports teams in a very positive way. Chris attended a test-in public school in Manhattan, where he spent his whole time playing basketball. He also participated in sports programs outside of the school. He is a strong believer that every kid who wanted to participate in sports, should have the opportunity to do so.

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My group spoke with Jonathan Gamberg on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, about what he has accomplished with the City Parks Foundation. All five boroughs of the city have parks where Jonathan works. In his department at the City Parks Foundation, he works with only two other full-time employees.

We discovered during the conversation that the City Parks Foundation provides several free sports programs in parks all across New York City. There are very few kids-only golf courses nationwide, according to Jonathan. Throughout the interview, He provided us with a lot of great knowledge and provided excellent responses to all of our questions. The City Parks Foundation provides free sporting events in several parks around New York City for kids age 6-18! Something that I found really interesting was that after these kids outgrow the programs, he provides them jobs working there, which is a great opportunity for people who need to make money

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