MORAVIA - For more than 10 years, Jim Mahunik has been giving children a reason to get up early on Saturday mornings.
Mahunik, the director of basketball operations for the Moravia Youth Basketball League, said the program was started before he got involved, but through his own children he was drawn to take an active interest.
“I have three sons and they were all playing,” Mahunik said. “And they were looking for coaches. I like to coach and I like working with kids. So it has been a great thing to get involved with.”
The program is geared toward kids of all ages and skill levels starting with kindergarteners and going up to eighth graders.
Mahunik believes it is important to get an early start creating a solid foundation for young athletes to build on as they grow.
“We teach the kids sportsmanship,” Mahunik said. “We try to teach them all the fundamentals of playing and dribbling and shooting and you can see how happy they are when they make that first basket.”
For young players such as Cole Johnson, there is nothing like the feeling of getting that first basket.
“Basketball is my favorite,” Johnson said. “The best part is getting a basket, that's what I really like.”
Mahunik said most years there are nearly 200 kids participating in the entire program, none of which would be possible without a lot of support.
“The town pays the insurance so we can keep the cost low and they let us use the gym,” Mahunik said. “We couldn't do this without the support of the town and the school district. They help us keep the cost low, so no one ever gets turned away.”
And the parents of the town are only too happy to have this opportunity open to their children.
“It is terrific,” Mara Engelmann said. “There are a lot of knowledgeable people here and the coaches really do take a lot of time with the kids and help them improve. I think this really makes the kids feel worthwhile and special.”
And every year this attitude attracts more and more parents and kids to the program.
“This is my first year,” Payton Johnson said. “I really like it. It is a lot of fun dribbling and exercising and trying to shoot some hoops.”
There is also a dedicated core of players who come back year after year.
“I've been here for three years,” Joey Peppe said. “I have a lot of friends here and it is never boring.”
Lending a helping hand are girls junior varsity coach John Crossgrove, who has been helping on and off for about four years, and many of his players.
“I think you have to start with good habits right in the beginning,” Crossgrove said. “For the kids it really helps build their confidence and they get much more comfortable on the court.”
Many of his players said they got their start in the program when they were younger. Seeing the older players gives the younger ones something to shoot for.
“I want to get better,” Madison Genson said. “And I want to keep playing and when I get older I want to play for the school and be a good basketball player.”
Crossgrove said he hopes the presence of his team not only helps make the young ones better players but instills a love of basketball.
“They can get much more comfortable the more they know the sport,” Crossgrove said. “The more they know me and the more they get used to me, the better. We have a lot of experience we can pass on to them and make them comfortable and help them develop into good strong players.”
Much of what is learned early in the program has been carried through to players who have gone on to modifieds, JV and ultimately varsity.
The results speak for themselves.
In Mahunik's first year with the program, he coached Tim Nervina, who is now a starter on Moravia's varsity squad.
“It is great to see them grow and move on like that,” Mahunik said. “I think this program really helps make better basketball players for Moravia.”
Modified players like Dillion Langtry said what they learned has been crucial to their development as players.
“I was here every weekend,” he said. “It was fun just to be able to play with my friends, but now I know that what I learned has been important and stuck with me through the years.”
The program has inspired deep commitment from its past players, such as Meghan Ideman and Megan Chiddy, who have both gone on to be part of the CCYO travel team.
They often spend their entire Saturday in the gym, helping with everything from games to concessions and scoreboards.
“We just like playing,” Ideman said. “There are a lot of players here that are really good and are going to be really good. We just like being a part of that.”
With such passion and dedication, Mahunik sees a bight future for both the program and basketball in Moravia.
“These are the players of the future,” he said. “We're lucky we get so much support and can get so many kids into the game. We try to teach the kids that it doesn't matter if they win or lose. The most important thing is that they have fun and how they learn and play. We want them to enjoy themselves and learn as much as they can and become the best players they can. They really are the future of Moravia basketball.”
“I have three sons and they were all playing,” Mahunik said. “And they were looking for coaches. I like to coach and I like working with kids. So it has been a great thing to get involved with.”
The program is geared toward kids of all ages and skill levels starting with kindergarteners and going up to eighth graders.
Mahunik believes it is important to get an early start creating a solid foundation for young athletes to build on as they grow.
“We teach the kids sportsmanship,” Mahunik said. “We try to teach them all the fundamentals of playing and dribbling and shooting and you can see how happy they are when they make that first basket.”
For young players such as Cole Johnson, there is nothing like the feeling of getting that first basket.
“Basketball is my favorite,” Johnson said. “The best part is getting a basket, that's what I really like.”
Mahunik said most years there are nearly 200 kids participating in the entire program, none of which would be possible without a lot of support.
“The town pays the insurance so we can keep the cost low and they let us use the gym,” Mahunik said. “We couldn't do this without the support of the town and the school district. They help us keep the cost low, so no one ever gets turned away.”
And the parents of the town are only too happy to have this opportunity open to their children.
“It is terrific,” Mara Engelmann said. “There are a lot of knowledgeable people here and the coaches really do take a lot of time with the kids and help them improve. I think this really makes the kids feel worthwhile and special.”
And every year this attitude attracts more and more parents and kids to the program.
“This is my first year,” Payton Johnson said. “I really like it. It is a lot of fun dribbling and exercising and trying to shoot some hoops.”
There is also a dedicated core of players who come back year after year.
“I've been here for three years,” Joey Peppe said. “I have a lot of friends here and it is never boring.”
Lending a helping hand are girls junior varsity coach John Crossgrove, who has been helping on and off for about four years, and many of his players.
“I think you have to start with good habits right in the beginning,” Crossgrove said. “For the kids it really helps build their confidence and they get much more comfortable on the court.”
Many of his players said they got their start in the program when they were younger. Seeing the older players gives the younger ones something to shoot for.
“I want to get better,” Madison Genson said. “And I want to keep playing and when I get older I want to play for the school and be a good basketball player.”
Crossgrove said he hopes the presence of his team not only helps make the young ones better players but instills a love of basketball.
“They can get much more comfortable the more they know the sport,” Crossgrove said. “The more they know me and the more they get used to me, the better. We have a lot of experience we can pass on to them and make them comfortable and help them develop into good strong players.”
Much of what is learned early in the program has been carried through to players who have gone on to modifieds, JV and ultimately varsity.
The results speak for themselves.
In Mahunik's first year with the program, he coached Tim Nervina, who is now a starter on Moravia's varsity squad.
“It is great to see them grow and move on like that,” Mahunik said. “I think this program really helps make better basketball players for Moravia.”
Modified players like Dillion Langtry said what they learned has been crucial to their development as players.
“I was here every weekend,” he said. “It was fun just to be able to play with my friends, but now I know that what I learned has been important and stuck with me through the years.”
The program has inspired deep commitment from its past players, such as Meghan Ideman and Megan Chiddy, who have both gone on to be part of the CCYO travel team.
They often spend their entire Saturday in the gym, helping with everything from games to concessions and scoreboards.
“We just like playing,” Ideman said. “There are a lot of players here that are really good and are going to be really good. We just like being a part of that.”
With such passion and dedication, Mahunik sees a bight future for both the program and basketball in Moravia.
“These are the players of the future,” he said. “We're lucky we get so much support and can get so many kids into the game. We try to teach the kids that it doesn't matter if they win or lose. The most important thing is that they have fun and how they learn and play. We want them to enjoy themselves and learn as much as they can and become the best players they can. They really are the future of Moravia basketball.”
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