It is never easy to establish a new sports program, but despite the difficulties, the Tyburn Academy's boys and girls basketball programs have been slowly but surely growing and improving season after season.

The boys' program headed up by coach Joe Brechue, has been a work in progress for the last four seasons.

Brechue, who had coached at Cayuga Community College, was contacted by school principal, Jeanne Hogan, about getting a program started and he eagerly took on the task.

“I thought it was a great idea,” Brechue said. “It sounded like a great opportunity so I decided to help out.”

Being a small school, Brechue certainly had his work cut out for him, but that did not detour him one bit.

“We started out playing JV teams,” Brechue said. “It was a good place to get us started.”

There is something to be said for the old adage that slow and steady wins the race.

While the program did get a slow start, it was a steady one.

“We have some talented players,” Brechue said. “And they are all very dedicated to playing and being a part of this team.”

For the first few years, the team played three of four games a year against other schools' JV teams, but Brechue and his players soon decided that it was time to try their hand at varsity.

“Last year we decided we needed to make the jump,” Brechue said. “We have been growing and we all decided that if we were going to do this we should be playing at the varsity level.”

With a small school and a small student population to draw from, Brechue has been able to assemble a team that he is proud of.

“There are only 12 boys in the school,” Brechue said. “That is a nice thing about this team - you know you are going to play. And we have some talented players. It is a unique school, a good school with good academics, so (as a coach) you know you don't have to worry about the students in the classroom, which has helped us build a good team.”

It has not been an easy road, but the determination of the team under Brechue's guidance has been paying off.

In recent weeks the team has brought home its first two career victories, defeating DeSalle's JV team and most recently The Rochester School of the Deaf.

With a record of 2-5 on the season, it has been an exciting time for the Tyburn boys team.

“The kids are great,” Brechue said. “That are really excited about the way we've been playing. The kids are believing in what we are trying to do and I think it is paying off. We just need to be patient, but I think we are going to be growing.”

The program practices at St. Hyacinth and plays home games at the CCC campus, but hopes to one day have its own facility among other long term goals.

“We moved into St. Mary's,” Brechue said. “So we might be getting our own gym that is something that has been talked about a little bit. Our big goal right now is to either become an independent or join the OHSL. We'd be a small class D team, but that is our big goal right now.”

Stemming from the boys' program, the girls program was first developed last season.

And this year, with Shelly Kiesznowski has a very athletic background, coaching softball and more than 15 years of playing basketball.

The team earned their first win alongside the boys' team, edging out the Rochester School of the Deaf.

After a disappointing first season, where the girls didn't win a single game, Kiesznowski has helped change the attitude on the team and get the girls going in the right direction.

And with a relatively young team, Kiesznowski can look towards the future and use that youth as a chance to help build up the team and its collective experience.