Former NBA Referee Ronnie Nunn
Even with county-wide accolades like a Best of Westchester Award and a twentieth anniversary proclamation from County Executive Bob Astorino, MVP is hardly a household name in the northern reaches of the county. Yet for the second consecutive year MVP is offering a late June week in North Salem for boys ages 9 – 16 with free busing from Mount Kisco and White Plains. Executive Director Noel Muyskens explains why:
“First and foremost, the North Salem High School and Middle School complex is just a great venue,” Muyskens says. “It has two full-sized gyms across the hall from each other, plus outdoor courts for running teaching stations while the kids get a little fresh air. Even the cafeteria, where MVP serves lunch that comes with the package, is just down the hall from the gyms. And unlike some of our more congested venues in central and southern Westchester, drop off, pick up, and parking are a snap.”
Former NBA Referee Ronnie Nunn will be the guest speaker on the second day of camp. This Danbury resident, who also served as the head of NBA referees for a while, runs a very entertaining and informative clinic where campers get a refresher on the rules and then get to try their hand at reffing games.
If you think this program will be far less diverse than MVP’s other offerings, think again. Although there are not a lot of under-resourced children in the immediate area surrounding North Salem, MVP will again provide scholarships for children from the the Boys and Girls Club of Northern Westchester as well as Pathways Academy in Danbury, Connecticut.
MVP’s 2015 camp at North Salem was very well received. Somers resident Johanna Townsend, whose son Nate has attended camps in White Plains also, said she thought the competition level was just as good up here. And like many parents of MVP campers, she sees the exposure to diversity as a real plus for her children. When asked about her son playing with kids from other parts of the county, she commented “that’s the best part about MVP in my opinion.”
Scholarship applicants need to send documentation of family income and a letter of recommendation from school in order to be a considered. Space should remain available up until the last minute. There will be four teams in each of three divisions, boys 9 -10, boys 11-12, and boys 13 – 16.
