74 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 8, 2013 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com sports BASKETBALL GIANT REELING IN FUNDS CARMELO TAKES THE COURT AT QC BY LIAM LA GUERRE lguerre@queenscourier.com When Carmelo Anthony was a child he didn’t have a chance to attend basketball camp and meet an NBA player. It’s for this reason now that the New York Knicks star hosts his own youth basketball camps. “I like to be in an intimate setting with my campers,” Anthony said. “Show some humor with them, show some personality with them. This is a moment that they would never forget. I wish I had this when I was young.” Anthony directed his Melo Camp youth basketball event on August 3 and 4 at Queens College to help inspire about 640 registered children. The special event was organized by youth sports camp operator ProCamp, which also directs camps for NBA stars James Harden, Kevin Durant and Dwyane Wade, among other professional athletes. Last year Anthony taught his fi rst New York City Melo Camp at St. John’s University, but he has hosted the event with ProCamp since his rookie season with the Denver Nuggets in 2003. This year they choose Queens College because of the large Maurice Fitzgerald Gymnasium. Lucky pro-basketball hopefuls at the two-day event took pictures, asked questions and of course, played basketball with Anthony. “He was a kid once so it’s very inspiring,” said ProCamp CEO Gregg Darbyshire. “It shows them that it’s real.” The boys and girls, in grades 1 through 12, learned the fundamentals of the game and then split into teams for fi ve-on-fi ve half-court matches. Children who participated in the camp received Knicks star Carmelo Anthony directed his youth basketball camp at Queens College. Anthony’s autograph, a team photo with him, a ProCamp T-Shirt, and a camper goodie bag, among other gifts. “My son was really excited,” said Ridgewood resident THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre Daniel Ayala about meeting Anthony. “He can’t wait to go back to summer camp to tell all his friends. It’s something that he didn’t think he would be able to do.” Fishing raises funds for autism programs BY LIAM LA GUERRE lguerre@queenscourier.com A Middle Village-based autism advocacy group hosted a fundraising fi shing tournament and raffl e that reeled in more than $350. Play4Autism, which seeks to engage children with autism in various sports activities, organized the tournament on August 4, to fund events through the year for kids with the disorder. “Everybody had fun and understood what the program is about,” said Greg Vasicek, founder of the organization. “The whole object is to bring the community together and to help the children.” The tournament was held on a boat named The Captains’ Lady, which traveled from the Sheepshead Bay Piers in Brooklyn to the Atlantic Ocean. There the competitors caught fl uke, sea bass and porgies. The event had 18 competitors from Middle Village, who together caught more than 75 fi sh. Adam Gellerstein, who caught the fi rst fi sh, and Bill Bornhoeft, who snagged the longest fi sh—a fl uke at 22 inches—received $50 cash rewards. About one in 88 children is affected Play4Austim hosted a fundraising fi shing tournament to sponsor activities for kids with the disorder. by autism, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The disorder impairs a person’s ability to communicate and form relationships and so far there is no known cure. Throughout the year Play4Autism creates activities such as street hockey, basketball and even Tiger Schulmann’s Karate lessons so they can interact and make friends. The group also sponsors THE COURIER/Photos by Liam La Guerre music lessons and arts and craft activities, and is seeking to add acting and science lessons as well. Play4Autism’s events are mostly funded through donations and fundraisers such as the fi shing tournament and other sports events. “People relate to recreational activities,” Vasicek said. “They understand that and everybody enjoys themselves.”
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