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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We had an in person interview with Jonathan Gamberg who is the associate director of the City Parks Foundation. He mostly works in Queens and Brooklyn but spends time in the other three boroughs as well. He is one of three full time workers at the City Parks Foundation.

He first talked about how the organization has sporting events around the city throughout the year. These events are for kids ages 6-18 to provide them with sports that are free to play. These events are mostly instructed by the 120 part-timers that they hire every year. Jonathan explained how he tends to hire students in high school/college that are interested in sports because it is a good opportunity for them. Those high school and college students teacher the 60 percentile of the people they hire the other 50-40 are older people. Gamberg told us how he does partnerships with professional sports teams in the city. He originally wanted to work for a professional team but when he got this job at a younger age, he fell in love with it. He says he loves providing kids with free to play, good quality sports.

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On Tuesday, January 24th, 2023, my group interviewed Jonathan Gamberg about all that he has done with the City Parks Foundation. Jonathan works in all five boroughs at various parks throughout the city. He works closely with the two other full-time workers in his division at the City Parks Foundation.

During the interview, we learned about how the City Parks Foundation offers many different free sports programs in parks around New York City. The City Parks Foundation has there own golf setup for kids only; Jonathan told us there were very few of them around the country. Jonathan gave us a lot of information throughout the interview and answered all of our questions very well. The City Parks Foundation offers free sports programs throughout different parks in New York City. These programs are for children ages 6-18. He told us about how he grew up in New York City in these sports programs. Jonathan had originally wanted to work for a professional sports league or team, but when he was living in New York during school one year, he saw the position at the City Parks Foundation become available and he has been working there ever since. The majority of the people that work for the City Parks Foundation are coaches and do not work full-time hours for them.

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My group and I met with Chris Klein on Monday, January 23rd, 2023. Chris was asked about his time playing youth athletics in New York City. He entered a Manhattan public school through a test and played basketball there the entire time. He participated in sports for both his school and numerous citywide club teams.

Chris shared with us his experience as a coach of many sports, including LREI sports such as varsity basketball for boys, girls varsity volleyball, and a summer basketball camp. He shared his thoughts on how young people should be able to play sports with people from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds and not just those who can afford to play at the same level as them. Chris also discussed how certain youth sports programs in New York City are fee-based, while others are completely free. He said he feels that every kid interested in sports deserves the same chance to become good at said sport. He went into lots of detail about his experiences playing youth sports as a kid himself. The part of the interview I felt was the most important was when he was asked what he thought about the inequities of sports and how some kids don’t get to play because they didn’t have as much privilege as him as a kid. He replied by saying as a kid he never really thought about it as a kid, he just played. Because sports were always on his mind, he didn’t really care about anything else, and not totally recognizing his privilege.

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Coach Macky was our first interview and it went well. Most of us previously knew him through basketball in lower Manhattan. We had a document of planned questions and Macky answered them in a lot of depth. We learned more than we had thought and we now see his non – profit in a whole different way. He talked about the diversity of the program and it’s main mission. We are grateful for his time and learning about his organization and early life.

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Jonathan Gamberg is the associate director of sports at The CPF. He basically manages the researchers created by the foundation for kids. He said that the main issue that children go through is the access to resources and that many children who live in areas that don’t have them are struggling in my fields. Kids who play sports are said to be much more successful, 57 percent of those who play sports when younger grow up to be business leaders. Jonathan was a true delight to interview and his answers were always on point. Jonathan gave us so much information about the organization he is apart of.

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After a week of emailing I had scheduled to meet in person with Jonathan Gamberg, the associate director of a non – profit in NYC, City Parks Foundation. He met us at 11:15 in front of the school building and we led him to the office where we sat down and started our interview. During the interview we were not only all focused, but we all asked planned questions, listened, and did our best. We started by learning how the foundation sets up events and sport opportunities for all NYC children 6 – 18 free of charge. Later in the interview I learned more about Jonathan himself and his personal story. Overall we had one our best interviews with Jonathan and we learned a lot more about the organization and how it corresponds with our project.

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On January 23rd we interviewed Chris Klein a coach at our school, LREI, and a person who played D3 basketball and had his own fair share of experiences. We interviewed him about the differences between coaching and playing and which one he enjoyed more. We continued to ask him questions about NYC basketball in general which he had mixed feelings about. He said, “I feel there are plenty of Programs It’s just that none of them are quality.”

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On Tuesday, January 24th, 2023, my group interviewed Luis Hernandez about his work with the City, a basketball program in New York City that works mostly with girls. Luis has worked at various schools and basketball programs throughout New York City. He has worked at a few different private schools and he currently works for LREI and he also is a coach for the City. Luis talked to us about how the City has evolved over the years.

Before Covid, the City offered programs for both boys and girls basketball. Now, the City primarily focuses on girls’ basketball, with only one boy’s team. He told us that the main reason behind dropping boys teams was that girls would stay at the City through highschool while most boys ended up leaving and trying out for a more well-known league. After the boys would try out for a different team, if they did not get a lot of playing time, they would try and re-join the City but at that point, the City would not have spots left. Luis thought that it was a better use of his time to work with kids who would stay with him throughout middle and high school. Luis also told us about the two national championships the City won just a few years ago.

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My group interviewed Coach Macky on Thursday, January nineteenth, 2023. Coach Macky is the founder of a non-profit organization called Steady Buckets. Steady Buckets is a basketball, physical, and skill development program for girls and boys ages five to eighteen. The objective of the program is to help kids grow and develop hard-working skills. It is funded by the community, therefore there are high-quality free basketball classes that kids of various ages can go to. Macky shared us his insight on the prices of sports in NYC. I learned a lot about what it takes to run a non-profit organization and the benefits of kids that participate in sports. Kids who had taken part in the Steady Buckets in-person version of the program spread the word about the online workouts on Covid since they were accessible at any time of the day. Coach Macky expressed his pride at not really needing to publicize it because it did so well on its own. Coach Macky was aware that his high caliber free basketball program in downtown Manhattan would draw the attention it deserved and that anyone who chose to participate would learn about its caliber.

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We met with Coach Macky, the leader of a nonprofit organization called steady buckets. He talked about access to youth sports and how his organization is designed for everyone no matter class, race, or sex. Macky went on to talk about the struggles that arose during covid and the struggles in funding organizations. Steady Buckets is an overall wonderful program and learning about how many children it helped only made us more motivated about our topic.

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On Monday, January 23rd, 2023, my group met with Chris Klein. We talked to Chris about his experience playing youth sports in New York City. He went to a test into public school in Manhattan and played basketball throughout his time there. He played for his school and many club teams throughout the city.

Chris told us about how he has coached different types of things,, including; LREI sports (boys varsity basketball an,d girls volleyball) and a basketball summer camp. He told us about his opinions on the economic diversity in youth sporris told us about how kids can and should play sports with economic diversity and should not just be able to play with kids who can affordograms as they can. We also talked to Chris about how there are youth sports programs that exist in New York City that cost money and some that do not cost any money. He also told us that often in youth sports the quality will increase as the price also increases. This means that some of the more affordable sports programs or free sports programs are not always very high quality.

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Last Thursday, January 19th, 2023, my group met with Coach Macky. Coach Macky is the founder of a nonprofit organization called Steady Buckets in downtown New York City. Coach Macky told us about how he founded Steady Buckets. He founded Steady Buckets because he felt there needed to be a free sports program that was high quality. Coach Macky started Steady Buckets after working at various Basketball programs in the city. Steady Buckets was originally located at the Chinatown Y.

Over Covid, Steady Buckets had to switch to be online. Directly before Covid, Steady Buckets reached its peak of participants. Over Covid, Steady Buckets online workouts became very popular as they were available at any point throughout the day and kids who had participated in the in-person version of Steady Buckets, spread the word about the workouts. Coach Macky talked about how proud he was that he never really had to advertise it, it advertised itself. Being a high quality, free basketball program in downtown Manhattan, Coach Macky knew that the fact it was free meant it would get the attention it deserved and that people would find out about the quality if they decided to participate in it.

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