January 5, 2005
At Queens Middle Schools, Something to Cheer About
By SIMONE S. BRIDGES, NY TIMES

LINK

Students were always going up to Dwayne Cumberbatch and asking why Allen Christian School, a private middle school in Jamaica, Queens, had no basketball teams.

Mr. Cumberbatch, the school's athletic director, could have talked about the lack of a tradition and the high cost of starting interscholastic teams. Instead, he and his colleagues formed boys' and girls' teams last year.

"There was a void and a lack of school morale," he said. "We were losing our kids at 3:45 to other programs, and their parents were spending money for these programs."

At the same time, Hannibal Parish, the athletic director at St. Joseph's Parish Day School in Queens Village, was also starting basketball teams.

St. Joseph's and Allen Christian School became competitive partners, forming their own league, the Southeast Queens Athletic Association. That meant the schools could start cheerleading squads and charge for tickets to the games, with the proceeds going toward team expenses.

"What started as a scrimmage ended up being a league," Mr. Parish said. "The kids opened up, became more serious. They walked around with their chests poking out."

This fall the league expanded after Mr. Cumberbatch met Melvin Soto, the girls' coach at Intermediate School 125 in Woodside, in a Queens trophy store. The two exchanged business cards and when I.S. 125 was invited into the league, Mr. Soto and Jamie Matos, the boys' basketball coach, agreed it was the right move.

"Other schools were facing the same problem I was facing at Allen," Mr. Cumberbatch said. "Getting the team together was easy, but finding games and competition was hard. Few schools like Allen had a team or a structured league."

The league found a fourth school when Mr. Cumberbatch approached Dorine Stevenson, the assistant principal of St. Peter Claver in Jamaica, to find out if the school had a basketball team.

Mrs. Stevenson said that she knew the interest and potential were there, but that with no coach and no gym, she was not sure how feasible the idea of a team was. She recruited an alumnus, Larry Odomon, to be the coach.

The league's expansion comes just as the city's Department of Education is planning to create a new framework for competitive athletics in middle and elementary schools. Formal competition disappeared after the city's fiscal crisis of the 1970's.

Students say that playing in the new Queens league's games has made a difference.

"My attitude about basketball changed a little," said Cory Collins, 11, from St. Peter Claver. "I take the game more serious."

Brittany Clark, a seventh grader on the St. Joseph's varsity team, said: "Last year we were only playing Allen. But this year we get to play more schools. It's more of an experience."

She wants to play in high school, and believes that league play will make her more competitive. And she's not the only student dreaming of high school sports.

"I want scouts to come watch us play," said Victor Springer, a seventh grader at St. Joseph's.

Mr. Cumberbatch shares this sentiment. "I want high schools to look at these children not just for academic reasons," he said. "I want them to be interested because they are well-rounded from an academic and an athletic standpoint."

Sterling Sennyer, a sixth grader who is new to the St. Joseph's team, is happy to be part of the league because, she says, "Now we have more chances of winning."

The coaches agree that the league is special because the schools have common values. For example, all the schools bar students from playing if they have failed a subject.

Every Monday Mr. Matos gives his team progress reports to be filled out by their teachers. The team at Allen Christian School begins practices with study hall from 3:45 to 5 p.m., then they play ball from 5 to 6.

Mr. Matos tells his team that their behavior is just as important as their grades.

"A teacher looks at your conduct - if you're between an 80 and an 85, and you have poor conduct, she's going to lean toward the lower grade," Mr. Matos said he tells his team.

"The demerit system gives them the discipline to prepare for high school," said Kevin DePass, the boys' varsity coach at Allen. "Hopefully their grades will be as good as their plays."

St. Joseph's team plays in a small gym and must play half-court. St. Peter Claver does not have a gym; the team practices at a local church. "We used to go to the Y to practice," Mr. Odomon said. "We're trying to build up money for some kind of facility."

The students are just happy to play.

"If we didn't have a league, I'd feel the same," said Shaniqua Vickers, a point guard on Allen's varsity team. "I just wanted to play all my life."

Mr. DePass remarked, "Once we get more games under our belts this season, they'll understand the concept of the league."

The league is free, which means things like uniforms, supplies, transportation, trophies and other team expenses are paid for through fund-raising.

The coaches also agree that the league can play a role in promoting the schools.

"You cannot replace the level of excitement that these kids have," Mr. Cumberbatch said. "When it comes down to the end of the day, we need something for the children to be excited about."