Local Basketball Team Wins Gold at Special Olympics Tournament

By Anthony Paradiso

A local basketball team called the “City Hawks” (also known as the “Unified Banner Team”) just won gold at the Special Olympic games held at Queens College in June. This comes just six months after a New York Edge Beacon Program floor hockey team picked up silver.

The team was formed thanks to New York Edge, an organization which is New York City’s “largest provider of school-based after school and summer programming” according to a New York Edge representative.

The basketball players were part of a specific program within New York Edge called the “Beacon Program” which “transforms its host school into a resource for the whole community by offering an integrated range of programming tailored to meet each individual community’s needs.” Beacon Program Director Darius Nazario said that the program “offers opportunities for all ages throughout the year, Monday through Saturday,” and that the program runs throughout the day from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The Beacon Program operates out of City-As-School, a high school located at 16 Clarkson Street in Greenwich Village. The school was recently designated as a Special Olympics Unified Champion School by the New York City Chancellor’s Office, which recognizes schools that have a “deep, sustained commitment to creating an inclusive climate,” according to the representative.

Nazario shed some light on how the City Hawks were formed: “Through partnership with both City-As-School and MOTC 721 (Manhattan Occupational Training Center), participants began practicing together as part of the Unified Banner program. After successfully being formally recognized as a unified school, we developed the team to attend the Special Olympic games.”

Athletics are not the only objective of the Beacon Program nor does its work end when the participants graduate as Nazario points out. “The Beacon Program is designed to run throughout the day from 10 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. This wide time frame allows us to support the players in the classroom, on the court, and with their growth socially. Our unique offerings and staffing also provide opportunities for their growth regarding ‘next steps.’ We also continuously attend trainings or professional developments to add to our toolkit for offerings.”

The City Hawks would not have gotten where they are today without a rigorous practice schedule. From Monday through Friday, the City Hawks players practice twice a day at the school. On Saturdays, the gym is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., which many players take advantage of.

This is what sports and work environments are about, bringing together people from different backgrounds to achieve a common goal. Learning sportsmanship is part of the Beacon Program’s mission which is to “bridge the opportunity gap among students by providing them with programs designed to improve academic performance, self-confidence, and leadership skills for success in their future.”

The City Hawks head coach is Maria Bermudez, and she alluded to the spirit of inclusivity with these comments about her team’s gold medal winning performance: “Seeing our school community rally around these students reminded us why we do this work. You championed collaboration over competition, kindness over judgment, and celebration over barriers. Simply put, you helped create a space where every student could shine.”

And this all happened in Greenwich Village! Bravo to the City Hawks. The Village View staff wish them the best of luck in the future.