It was great to have the opportunity to perform and share my testimony with the inmates at the state prison on Friday May 17th. I was taken back by how appreciative the men were, they listened to every word and many made some great decisions! Looking forward to returning there again.
“The Clown Prince of Basketball” Meadowlark Lemon
On June 22nd I will have an opportunity to work with one of my heroes, Meadowlark Lemon. He is, hands down, one of the most influential figures in the history of sports. Most people my age or younger, do not know about the impact that this man has had all around the world but even my 5 and 7 year old daughters have watched him on Scooby doo. His love of the Lord and his passion to reach people with the gospel has always driven him. So much infact, that this June, at the age of 80, it will bring him to Windham, Maine where I will have the honor of working with him one on one!
I’ve always hoped to meet him one day but I never thought I would actually get the opportunity to work with him. I’ve only seen him in person once but I’ve heard many stories about him from some of my teammates that have played with him. So it will be a true honor to work along side one of the most legendary members of the basketball hall of fame this June 22nd at the Grace Church in Windham Maine.
My first game with the Harlem Legends was very special for me because of the fact that it was played in the hometown of the man who signed me last month, 16 year Globetrotter and a man that I’ve looked up to for many years, Larry “Gator” Rivers. I knew I was playing for a first class organization when we rode to the arena as the grand marshals in a parade. ”Gator” was beaming with pride as he rofe through Savanaah and then opened the show for the community that has invested so much into. I had the honor of taking the floor with the legendary Globetrotter, Tyrone “Hollywood” Brown, as well as “Tree” Gordan and several other former Globetrotters.
I knew I was running with some legendary players in this game but there was a sequence of trick shots in the 3rd quarter that showed me exactly how special these guys are. Tyrone “Hollywood” Brown on consecutive plays, made back to back set shots from beyond half court! The next trip down, they gave me the ball I swished my 1/2 court “no look” shot, but “Hollywood” wasn’t done, he grabbed the ball, called time out, went up into the crowd about 8 rows deep and swished the most amazing ‘in game’ trick shot that I’ve ever seen in my life on his first attempt! When that shot went in, to top off that sequence, Gator slapped me on the back and said, “you know what I’m talking about now son?” So I will always be loyal to Gator and will never forget my first experience with this small fraternity of basketball royalty!
What an honor it will be to perform along side one of the great basketball legends of all time on January 14th through the 20th in Albuquerque, New Mexico when I team up with Larry “Gator” Rivers! He along side, Meadowlark Lemon, Curly Neal, Marcus Haynes and many others, took the artistry of show-time basketball all over the world to entertain, engage but most importantly, to educate. The role that the Harlem Globetrotters played in the our nation’s perception of African Americans would have ripple effects that can be felt today. While it may not have been their intention from the outset, the Globetrotters played a much larger role in racial integration, than they were ever given credit for. They have been recognized by sitting presidents and world leaders for their humanitarian work that continues, in many different forms, to this very day! The fact that guys like myself, in 2013, are still benefiting from their work is a testament to those early Globetrotters. My story is just one example of many, who have benefited from these basketball pioneers. These men took the game that had been handed down to them, added their own creative flair, scene of humor and brazen showmanship, to create what people all over this world have enjoyed for generations, the wholesome, beauty of show-time basketball!
Im looking forward to meeting Larry “Gator” Rivers in person and thank him for all he’s done to help pave the way for me! I’ve done just enough homework to learn about the things that these original members accomplished. Some of the buildings they played in didn’t permit black man to enter in. They collected their checks and often left immediatly after the game when the hotels were “whites only.” They heard the slurs and the gears from the crowds as they played but even the staunchest racists had to respect their talent as they demolished one NBA team after another in their friendly, yet often fiercely competitive, exhibition games. After a while, their talent couldn’t be denied, their antics forced a smile on the faces of all who watched! Eventually, people noticed how they often used their popularity to help those in need. Slowly but surely, the tides of acceptance and understanding began to wash over the walls of hate and ignorance that had stood for many years. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Future Champions of America: “Positively Impacting The Next Generation One Student At A Time”
It has been an honor to represent “Future Champions of America” over the past two years. Our character based educational assemblies not only entertain, but engage and educate students. Our mission is to challenge each student to make a pledge to make positive choices about the issues that we discuss. We capture their attention through a sports exhibition and address the issues that each particular school struggles with. Our assemblies have proven to impact young people in a very powerful way but our hope is always to work as a team with the schools, local law enforcement and the outreach organizations that are already in place throughout the community so that we’re able to make an ongoing impact in each student’s life. [Read the rest of this entry...]
”Bouncing out Bullying” is set to return to the town of bath on August 10th at 6pm. A list of games and contests for all ages is listed below. This year’s show will be hosted by ‘Teens of America’ and we will be fundraising throughout the area to provide the community with T.O.A.’s magazines about the dangers of bullying. The event is free to the public and will provide not only students but parents as well, with the resources to help combat the issue of bullying/cyber bullying that is terrorizing young people today. We are welcoming back the most decorated martial artist in the state of Maine, martial arts hall of famer, and 2010 gold medalist from the USA Martial Arts team, Master Ed Hall. His demonstration team, ‘Team Extreme’ is set to perform once again this year.
Our keynote speaker will be a young man named Dax Catalano. When a cyber bullying incident spiraled out of control, it nearly cost Dax his life. He will be sharing his story for the very first time in public at our event. Below is a link to Dax’s story on wcsh 6:
httpv://www.wcsh6.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=150630
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I’d like to share something with you about my work with “Future Champions of America”, a non-profit organization who books school assembly speakers all over the country. In particular, a week of outreach work with them in New Mexico’s Rio Rancho school district. We saw some great results there, the number of decisions that were made were tremendous! Future Champions of America is a character based, non profit outreach organization that works with communities to reach the young people in their area with a very important message about choices. I first became aware of Future Champions of America’s program years ago when a good friend of mine was one of their speakers. Soon after I was invited to come on board the Future Champion’s team. As I learned about their sports exhibition/character based assemblies, I was thoroughly impressed. Over the past few years I have been working often with Freddie Reed and his organization and it’s been an honor to work with him. We’ve reached tens of thousands of young people in the few years we’ve been together.
The Harlem Superstars comedy basketball team is set to return to the Bath Middle School on Thursday, March 10th at 6:30pm. We have a lot of exciting surprises for the community at this year’s game! Last year was a sell out and we unfortunately had to turn away a lot of people at the door so make sure you get your tickets early this year! The Harlem Superstars put on an amazing display of basketball showmanship, with slam dunks, trick shots, unique comedy, basketball tricks, dancing and crowd interaction that you will not want to miss. The Superstars will provide an extremely entertaining family show that fans of all ages will enjoy. We are keeping the ticket prices very low this year so that everyone can enjoy the show. [Read the rest of this entry...]
On August 2nd We help a camp for children and adults with developmental disabilities at the Bath Middle School.
It was a true honor to work this week with some of Go’s most vulnerable creatures. I taught them about the game of basketball but they taught me about overcoming obstacles to achieve goals that most think are impossible.
WMTW 8 story about our camp:
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