Kimani Young (Director Of New Heights)Players and coaches always get a chance to shine on Basketball Spotlight but we never hear from the guys that actually orchestrate the AAU process. Therefore we created From The Director’s Desk to give program directors a shot at expressing themselves.
From The Director’s Desk Feat. Kimani Young (New Heights)
BS: What was your goal when you moved over to New Heights?
KY: When I took over the leadership at New Heights, my goals were to impact kids’ lives outside of basketball. Help them achieve all their basketball goals while helping them become better people. I wanted to help prepare them for life after basketball. All the tools you need to be a successful adult, you can learn playing basketball as a kid. I truly believe that.
BS: What are some of your programs biggest achievements since joining this organization?
KY: I try not to get caught up in winning tournaments and things like that. We’ve won our share of events and that’s great for the kids but I’ve learned that winning is a small part of this journey. The most important thing to me is helping kids get to college. That’s the true satisfaction. When I can go to a college game and watch kids that have come through our program, that’s when I’m most gratified and proud.
BS: Discuss some of the challenges that come along with directing a big time program?
KY: I think the biggest challenge is trying to please everybody. In our business, coaches, kids and families are our bloodline and it’s hard to please every coach, every kid and every family. I try to do my best to make decisions that are in the best interest of the kids first. Everyone and everything else comes second, including myself. I’ve always said no one is bigger than the program. If you’re not a good coach and a good role model for kids, you can’t be here. If you’re not a good kid and you’re not coachable, you can’t be here. That’s just the bottom line with us.
BS: Where do you consider you guys ranked in terms of basketball programs in New York?
KY: I leave that up to guys like you to decide but Coach Book said something to me a long time ago and I never forgot it. He said that this game is cyclical. One year New Heights is the toast of the town, Next year it could be LI Lightning, then it could be Gauchos, so on and so forth. The key is to stay relevant. I think we’ve done a good job of staying relevant. I’m content with that.
BS: How do you juggle the hats up being a director and coach?
KY: When I’m coaching is when I’m most comfortable but I’ve grown into the AD role. We have a great team of people here at New Heights that lighten the load on me so I’m fortunate to be doing what I do for a living. To have a full-time job working with young people and basketball is a dream come true for me. I’m sure there are thousands of people like me across the country doing what I do on a volunteer basis. So for that I’m thankful for New Heights.
BS: Talk about some of the off the court entities that make New Heights a complete program.
KY: Our overall program is called College Bound and what that means is that every kid that comes through our program will get to college. Under College Bound, we have HS Assist and College Assist. HS Assist is the process of helping all of our MS kids and families find the right fit for HS. We have an intensive 16 week program where we help prepare the kids for HS entrance exams, assist them in filling out HS applications as well as offer them individualized tutoring as needed. College Assist is the process of helping our HS kids find the right fit both academically and athletically through their recruitment process. We offer year round SAT prep to all of our student-athletes and we work closely with their high schools to ensure our kids are on time to graduate and qualify under NCAA regulations.
BS: You had a couple of big time players that have come through your program, discuss the magnitude and grind of managing a big time player?
KY: We’ve had some highly ranked and recruited kids come through our program recently and there are some huge responsibilities that come with that. We’ve made a point to be just as, if not more demanding of them than any other kids in the program. You know first-hand, we were hard on guys like Jayvaughn Pinkston (Villanova), Corey Edwards (George Mason), Devon Collier (Oregon State), Jermaine Sanders (Cincinnati) and Ashton Pankey (Maryland). We like to think that only helps them prepare for what’s ahead of them when they get to college. I think a lot of coaches and programs underestimate how important that is. When those highly recruited players get to college, they are still representing you and your program and that’s how you build relationships that can either help or hurt the kids that are coming out of your program behind them. We’ve worked hard to develop helpful relationships with college coaches that will last a long time.
BS: How can you make New Heights into the top basketball program in New York?
KY: I don’t know what that means… Is there an award or a check that comes with that? Lol. In all seriousness, we work hard at putting competitive teams together, playing against the top competition in the country, coaching them hard and seeing what happens. That’s all that matters to us. Winning is a product of doing things the right way. You have these fly by night coaches and programs chasing something that doesn’t exist. I’ve heard programs set goals to win the Nationals, win Vegas, win Basketball Spotlight, etc. Okay, what happens after that? You still have to continue to get better, you still have to continue to work, you still have to improve as a coach and as an organization. This journey is never ending and that’s what people don’t keep in perspective.
BS: Why should a young player want to make New Heights their future home?
KY: If I’m a parent and I have a child that wants to use basketball as a tool to get to a good HS, a good college, graduate from college and become a productive member of society, I’m going to look for an organization with leadership and coaches that have done those things. There are a handful of programs in New York City that offer what I just described and those are the programs that kids and families should want to be associated with. I’m not going to take my daughter to learn how to play the piano and the instructor has no fingers. That’s the blind leading the blind. And in a lot of cases here in New York City, that’s exactly what it is. The blind leading the blind!!!
