By:Jennifer Marino
Patrick Gordon, president of the Rockville Centre Basketball League, tells this anecdote from last season with pride in his players. These kinds of small victories have added up over the past 50 seasons for the league.
The league began its first season in 1954/55 when Irving Matloff, Hank Lewis and Leo Merson decided to form the "Little Basketball League." Matloff was the league's first president, commissioner and treasurer. The founders wanted to foster values of loyalty, good behavior and leadership.
In their first season, there were 16 teams of boys between the ages of 10 and 12. Today, the league has over 1,000 participants in grades three through 12. The teams consist of 10 players so each child is guaranteed to play at least half the game. There are playoffs at the end of the season between the red and blue divisions. Having fun, learning fundamentals and sportsmanship are what's stressed, said Gordon.
The league can be an outlet for kids who might usually spend a lot of time on the bench on a school team. Everyone who applies gets on a team. There are no tryouts for the league. Kenny Acerno, one of the boys coordinators, said that sometimes kids can get stigmatized as "bad" players at a young age, but the league doesn't label players. Acerno has seen good players get better and supposedly bad players become very good.
Through the years, many generations have made their way through the league. Gordon himself is a perfect example. He played in the league growing up in Rockville Centre. When he was a coach, one of his players was the granddaughter of one of his former coaches. Gordon's former coach, Phil Geyer was president when the league marked it 25th anniversary and now Gordon is president as the mark their 50th.
"It's reflective of Rockville Centre in general," Gordon said, "People stay in town." Acerno feels like he's never left the league. There was only a small gap between his playing days and his coaching days. All four his children have participated in the league. "The friendships last a lifetime," said Acerno. The tragic death of a young former player last year, brought together all his friends from many different schools to comfort one another. The common denominator among the young men was that they played in the league together. Acerno is still friends with guys he played basketball with in the Rockville Centre league.
Every year, the basketball league gives out several awards to players, including the Alex Benjamin Norris Award for Effort, Commitment and Achievement and the Irving Matloff Award for Sportsmanship. The Mike Riley Service Award is given to individual who has been an active member of the league for at least six years and has contributed to the success of the organization.
The league will celebrate with a dinner at the end of the season in either April or May. There used to be a dinner at the end of every season, but the league has outgrown local catering halls. The season ends with Super Sunday, featuring a basketball games, pizza and awards.
"We've had good athletes, but great kids," said Acerno.
