CHINA TO U.S. TO LONG ISLAND CITY, IT’S A LAY-UP

Basketball is the most popular sport in China today.  In the 21st century Mandarin has overwhelmingly been the largest-growing second language taught in NYC’s best schools, both private and public.  The massive increase in the federal deficit and the trade disagreements expected out of Washington D.C. in the near future, mean there’s a pretty good chance the next generation is going to be working for China, Inc.

Given the facts above, what should every parent be thinking right now?  Exactly – ‘Oh my, it would be extraordinarily neglectful of me not to have my child learn the foundations of basketball …immediately!  But how do I go about it?’

Really simple.  There is a children’s basketball program being offered on Saturday mornings in the gymnasium at PS78Q in Hunters Point that begins in January. It is open to all boys & girls in grades 1 – 8, subject to availability, and costs $125 per child.

While the odds that this program will turn your prodigy into the next LeBron1 are as slim as fluency in Mandarin after a dozen years of classes while living in the U.S., he/she may pick up some useful skills, both physical and non, that are transferable across borders.  Even if it’s only the one that divides Queens and Manhattan.

For girls the ability to be comfortable in a team environment rings especially true.  Unfortunately, unlike boys, girls do not naturally gravitate to team sports and require some prodding and possibly bribery to start. To the best of my knowledge this is the only basketball program in NYC that offers a girls-only session for those in grades 1 & 22, it would be a shame if it died on the vine.

So look to the East for direction, …no further than Flushing in fact, where you’ll see kids of all ages packing the outdoor basketball courts.  While visions of hoop dreams may fill their heads, at the end of the day they’re just there to have a good time.  Just like kids everywhere.  So sign up today for a healthy game your child can play for life.

//Court Square Civic Association will hold a Transportation Meeting this Thursday, November 30 at MoMAPS1 @ 7pm.  It’s open to all and will feature local government transportation experts.

LICYSL – click here for sign-up and more info on kids basketball at PS78Q this winter

China Is Hoops Country – “Basketball was introduced into China by foreign missionaries shortly after its late 19th century invention. The game grew among their students, including early members of the Communist Party. Even during the darkest days of the Cultural Revolution, when anything viewed as “Western” was targeted for destruction, basketball prospered in Chinese cities.”

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1. or even get him/her a free-ride athletic scholarship into Har-ford [↩]
2. admittedly that’s based solely on the few private programs that I tried to bring in to run it [↩]