Steve Tseckares, executive director of Backyard Sports Cares (BSC), joined us for dinner on January 3rd at Augie’s Restaurant in Larchmont. BSC’s slogan is “Changing Children’s Lives Through Sports” and its office is in White Plains. Steve explained how BSC got started and described some of the programs they’ve run.
Steve first fell in love with sports when he was a child growing up in suburban Washington, D.C. That love of sports continued through high school and eventually at Amherst College where he played football and was captain of the lacrosse team. He spent many years working as a television journalist, producer and executive for a variety of companies including CNN, MTV and MSNBC.
BSC aims to use sports programming to help underserved Westchester youth. It has a small regular staff and hires local high school students to run the over 30 programs after school and during the summer. Most of its funding comes from donations, rather than local governments. It uses facilities throughout Westchester for its programs, e.g. a gym, soccer field or tennis court.
Two programs in our area are the Camp Shape Academy and the MVP Basketball Camp. Camp Shape offers a comprehensive sports experience to boys and girls in the 3rd to 8th grades during the summer at New Rochelle High School. Campers choose either basketball, tennis or soccer.
The MVP Basketball Camp is also held during the summer and is for boys and girls ages 6 – 16. It opened in 1994 and has served more than 25,000 children. Held at Highlands Middle School in White Plains, it helps campers improve their basketball skills by playing two games a day, going through drill sessions and competing in individual skill contests.
Backyard Sports Cares’ phone number is: (914) 304-4052 and its website is www.byardsportscares.org
