Craig Raucher-The Staten Island Basketball Youth League
Throughout the long 44 year history of the Staten Island Basketball League (www.sibl.us) we have always had men playing . Over the past several years however we would receive calls weekly from parents on Staten Island who would Google basketball leagues seeking a place for their child or children to actually learn how to play basketball or to join a team. Our league would always come up in those searches.
On Staten Island their is no place where you can send a young person to actually learn how to play basketball. No place that will teach you how to dribble, how to shoot, how to pass or how to rebound. No place exists on the Island to teach you how to warm up, how to stretch or how to work out.Their are expensive private tutors but that is a one on one situation and basketball is a team game.
If a parent puts their child on a Church team or in a YMCA or JCC league and that child does not know how to play basketball it becomes a very embarrassing and negative experience with far reaching effects.. The child may play only a few minutes per game and when they actually get on the court they are embarrassed as other kids make fun of them.This negative experience generally has far reaching consequences where that child develops low self esteem and loses confidence. Therefore when basketball becomes an enjoyable and enriching experience it has the opposite effect on a child especially during their formative years.
Basketball in a team setting is a metaphor for building life skills: teamwork, interaction, friendship, communication and a common goal. All of life’s key building block skills in a positive enriching environment.
Children at a young age develop and form negative behaviors in response to the environment that they are in. When children are ridiculed and ostracized at an early age it creates negative patterns of behavior that can lead to aberrant behavior as they grow older.
We would not have been able to develop this group without the support of the Principal of PS 8 Ms Lisa Esposito and her excellent staff. Ms Esposito has helped tremendously in the growth and continuance of our dual groups.
As a long time advocate of childrens education adding sports is a natural extension.
In January 2024 we launched our first childrens youth group which is every Sunday afternoon from 12-2 and Wednesday evening from 6-7. We currently have 25 plus girls and boys aged 8-12 .We have children from many minority groups and from distant countries. We teach all of the skills needed to play basketball and we end our sessions with some full court casual games. We are seeking to grow our group and expand the hours and days.
Craig Raucher-Commissioner Staten Island Basketball League
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