Aug 30, 2018
Since our inception in 1994, more than 25,000 children have attended MVP Basketball Camp and more than 6,000 have received full scholarships. No deserving child has ever been turned away simply due to an inability to afford camp tuition.
MVP’s mission evolved from the belief that in our increasingly fragmented society it is more and more difficult for children from different socioeconomic backgrounds to meet and share an experience together. “MVP” typically stands for “Most Valuable Player,” but at this camp “MVP” signifies “Most Valued Person” because there is so much more to basketball, and for that matter to life, than being the high scorer. MVP uses basketball to teach goal setting, fair play, leadership, perseverance, and hard work in order to make the most of each camper’s individual talents.
This summer, MVP once again, brought in over 300 campers on scholarship. During our June 25th week, 66 campers came to us from three organizations. The Theodore D. Young Center in Greenburgh, Abbott House, and Jefferson Elementary School in New Rochelle, supplied the 66 deserving young campers along with bus transportation to and from their sites. During the week of July 23rd, 40 campers from Mount Vernon’s Boys and Girls Club, the NewFlex Hoops team, and Off the Streets came up from Mount Vernon and a group from the Coachman Center in White Plains also took advantage of our scholarship program. Three more groups from Yonkers participated in our last week at camp. 24 children from the Andrus Center, Hostos, and KICs took advantage of our scholarship program.
In total, MVP provided 313 weeks of scholarships for Westchester children this summer. Our scholarship children are not the only beneficiaries of these experiences. Parents of tuition campers value that their children are getting a “worldly experience” so close to home. They are making friendships that could not be made just in their immediate community.
Aug 30, 2018
550 pizzas. Over 2000 burgers. 40 gallons of Gatorade. These are just some of the numbers compiled at MVP Basketball Camp this summer. However, we take greater pride in the following: 1012 campers participated in basketball camp activities during our six weeks of camp. For the 24th year, MVP Basketball Camp has served the families throughout Westchester County to provide fun and quality basketball instruction for children from 6-16.
Our summer started on June 23rd with split camps at our Rye and White Plains sites. Resurrection School, in Rye, hosted our Juniors, Girls (9-13 years old) and Boys 1 (9/10 year olds) divisions. Our Boys 2 (11/12 year olds) and Boys 3 (13-15 year olds) worked out of the Eastview School in White Plains. The campers in Rye took advantage of the two air-conditioned gymnasiums as they rotated through one outdoor court. Rye High School Boys Varsity Basketball Coach Jon Aquilar spoke to our campers about his basketball experiences and took them through some varsity drills. In White Plains, our older boys worked through the heat (though indoors) to improve their games, while making new friends. Ronnie Nunn, a long-time friend to MVP, addressed the campers about his basketball experiences refereeing in the NBA for over 20 years.
During the 4th of July week, MVP held an intimate camper experience by holding two, two-day clinics. The first clinic emphasized individual skills that each player could develop to make themselves better. During the last two days, campers worked on team play as they worked on the two-man pick and roll and team defenses.
On July 9th, our entire camp moved to the Eastview School in White Plains. [We were displaced from our “home”, the Highlands School, because of renovations in the district.] The Eastview School has two large gyms and outdoor courts that we were able to modify to fit our camp needs. We added three outdoor courts to the existing two permanent structures. In our four weeks in White Plains, we managed one heat wave with two days of temperatures in the mid 90s. Our trainer, Amanda, carefully surveyed our campers and advised us of mandatory shade breaks and constant water breaks. Although many campers wanted to keep playing (where do they find the energy?), we limited our playing time. Often, rain and thunderstorms broke the summer heat. While we enjoyed a reprieve from the heat, we were limited to two gyms and had to be creative with our scheduling to try to maximize playing time. Luckily, we were able to find another gym at the School of the Holy Child. During the days that forecasted continuous rain, we bused campers down the road four miles to this site. There, campers enjoyed continuous playing time. This also opened up space at the Eastview School for the rest of the camp.
We have three goals for our campers each week: have fun, be safe, get better at basketball. We hope we provided an atmosphere where this was attainable. Thanks for being part of our summer. We look forward to seeing you again either in Rye or White Plains (Highlands School) in 2019 as we celebrate 25 years of camp!
Feb 22, 2018
At MVP, our mission is to award 300 scholarships every year to deserving children whose parents or legal guardians can’t afford summer camp. For these children MVP is truly a life expanding experience, and we believe the 500 campers from paying families also benefit. In Westchester’s towns and cities, families with significant resources live more and more separate lives from those of modest means, a trend for which sociologists have given a sport’s-related phrase: “the skyboxification of America.” We believe this trend weakens our communities.
We’re calling on all basketball-loving families to support our mission. Spend the evening of Sat., April 21 at MVP’s Hoops Madness family night at the School of the Holy Child, 2225 Westchester Ave. in Rye. Enjoy great food at the event and enter basketball contests for the whole family. Your support, no matter how small or large, is an investment in our children and in the communities where we live. We also invite you to make a donation in lieu of attending if you can’t make the event.
Ticket Prices (plus links to online enrollment below):
Admission is just $15 per person or $50 for a family of four or more, in advance or at the door. The admission price includes food, soft drinks, beer, and wine. There is an additional $10 charge per basketball contest entered. We encourage you to buy punch-cards for multiple entries into these contests.
Contests will include Free Throw and 3-point Shooting and will be organized by age group including an adult division.There will also be a parent/child two-ball skills competition. Anyone can enter an event more than once to try to improve their score and qualify for great prizes at the end of the night.
We also have Corporate sponsorship levels and gladly accept in-kind donations for food, drink, raffle, and auction items. Please call Camp Director John Nemsick at (914) 262-9988 for more information.
Jan 16, 2018
2018 will feature the same great coaches and guest speakers, the same fun contests and game play, and the same awards ceremony at the end of each week where special achievements are highlighted and every camper is recognized as a ‘Most Valued Person.” But there will be a few changes that will help MVP keep it’s reputation as the best sports camp in Westchester:
- Rye Resurrection School will again host camps at the end of June and during the July 4th holiday week. The holiday week offering will be slightly different in 2018. With July 4 falling on a Wednesday, our annual Skills Academy for more experienced 11 – 16 year old boys and girls we will feature a 2-day Academy July 2 – 3 that focuses on individual skills, and then another 2-day Academy July 5 – 6 that is centered on team concepts, both defensive and offensive. Parents may choose either or both sessions.
- There will not be a camp in Northern Westchester. We will split our June 25 week between Rye and White Plains this year instead of Rye and Bedford, with the co-ed 6 – 8, girls 9 – 13, and boys 9 – 10 in Rye and the boys 11 – 16 in White Plains. There will be busing back and forth between the two schools.
- MVP will move its White Plains venue from the Highlands Middle School to the Eastview Middle School. Unlike Highlands, where one of the inside gyms is very small, Eastview features two gyms that are both large enough for cross-court play, thereby increasing the indoor capacity by 25%. Outdoors we’ll feature newly resurfaced courts and a few brand new portable baskets to compliment the existing courts.
- Older girls ages 9 and up will again have the choice of playing in their own separate division during our June 25 week and during our skills academies in Rye, or playing in co-ed divisions during our White Plains weeks. Last year’s trial of four fully co-ed weeks in White Plains was very successful for more experienced female players. It is our recommendation that girls 9 and up who are relatively new to the game should choose the June 25 – 29 week.
