Leading into The Future through Hoops
By Tom Kertes

The Hoops and Leaders Basketball Camp (HLBC), a unique program that’s only in its first season, brings together 32 boys from all over New York City—of age 14-16—and 32 professional men to get to know each other and to, hopefully, establish a mentoring relationship long into the future.

What serves as the bridge to close the initial communication gap? “Basketball, of course,” said 25 year-old Aaron Dworkin, the proud “father” of HLBC.

And it’s true: basketball, more than any other sport, is the great equalizer, a true microcosm of life. This is a sport based on making the best possible decisions every time a player runs down the floor at an extremely fast pace. If that’s not a reflection of life, what is?

Dworkin has cleverly taken advantage of the unique, strange phenomenon known as male bonding. Let’s face it, two men may not like each other all that much and they may even be very wary of each other. But, put them on a basketball court on the same team and have them throw some nice passes to each other that result in a basket, and, more than likely, you’ve got yourself the beginning of a beautiful friendship. “Basketball was the bridge,’ said Dworkin, who works as Director of Strategic Development for the non-profit Coro Leadership Center. “There are over 80 mentoring groups around New York City and all of them suffer from a severe shortage of willing male volunteers. Literally, tens of thousands of boys are looking for a mentor. So, since I play basketball in all these different leagues, it occurred to me why not talk to the people I play with and against to see if they’re interested? And why not set up the program as a basketball camp in order to bring people in?”

Dworkin, inspired by ex-Knicks star and Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Bradley’s book Values of the Game, set up each session around a particular theme, including discipline, respect, responsibility resilience, vision decision-making and teamwork. During the day’s basketball drills, the values are re-emphasized with the instructors constantly drawing parallels with life.

“Today, we’re dealing with decision-making,” said Dworkin to the group that was getting ready to play. “During the game, you’ll be making decisions constantly as to where and when to pass the ball, whether you should shoot or whether your teammate has a better shot at the hoop if you make the right pass. It’s just like that in life. What are you going to do today? Are you going to school? What are your choices for your future? Practically everything in your life involves decision-making. So try to make the right decisions. Each choice you make might impact your life.”

HLBC, which is co-sponsored by Coro, the New York City Parks and Recreation Department, and the New York City Mentoring Partnership,

has also had well-known guest speakers like Fordham (and ex-Knicks) Coach Bob Hill, MSG Network’s Mike Quick, and former U.S. team-member Anucha Brown-Sanders, and NBA referee Tom Washington to reinforce the lessons absorbed. “Let’s face it, if you’re connected to the NBA, kids will listen to you just a little harder,” a smiling Dworkin said.

“Whenever successful people look back, they cite those older adults who influenced their development even if they knew them just for a short time,” added Dworkin. “We hope that the mentoring relationships developed here will extend long after this camp is over. We hope to give these young men the support, skills, and confidence they’ll need to be leaders in their schools, homes, and communities.”

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