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Queens hoops leaders up for big award
Pair of youth basketball coaches among 12 finalists for Jr. Knicks Coach of the Year
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
A pair of Queens youth
basketball coaches were
announced as two of five
finalists for the Jr. Knicks
Coach of the Year Award,
presented by Hospital for
Special Surgery.
Joann Pinnock, of
Springfield Gardens, and
Jason Curry, who grew up
in Richmond Hill and South
Ozone Park, share the love
of basketball and supporting
athletes of all levels both on
and off the court.
Pinnock, a varsity coach for
The Mary Louis Academy in
the Jamaica Estates, has been
serving her local community for
almost 30 years, where she runs
her program, Positive Direction.
“I started Positive
Direction in 1991 as a nonprofit
organization for both boys and
girls, where we start at age
4 and go all the way up to 17
years old,” said Pinnock. “We
have a fundamental program
teaching children how to play,
and we have travel teams
where they can participate and
compete on a higher level.”
According to Pinnock, the
children travel on tournaments
within and outside of New York
City, as well as New Orleans
and North Carolina, where they
have the opportunity to compete
and play in front of college
coaches for scholarships. The
program also provides tutoring
and mentoring for kids with
their academics.
Jason Curry (r.), founder and president of Big Apple Basketball,
which has grown steadily, launching a full slate of athletic and
educational programming and events in April 2003.
Photo courtesy of Jason Curry
Pinnock learned the game
of basketball from her father
at a young age, and she is
motivated everyday to teach
the game to others.
“I love what I do. I love
teaching making sure the
kids not only love the game of
basketball, but learning the
game of life,” said Pinnock.
“My goal isn’t to see how many
championships we win, but
to see how many successful
young men and young ladies
we can have to produce from
our program...it’s something
to watch because basketball
started it, but it teaches
other life skills that’s very
important.”
Additionally, her biggest
influence in the community is
supporting fund-raising efforts
for The Lupus Foundation of
America and developing Ladies
Only mentoring sessions,
where women empower each
other and talk about their
experience playing high school
and college level basketball.
Meanwhile, Jason Curry
—founder and president of
Big Apple Basketball, which
serves 350 kids between the
ages of 7 to 18 years old — has
been helping to build strong
communities by reaching out
to other community groups.
Curry founded Big Apple
Basketball in 1999 hoping
to assist young people in
their athletic, educational,
professional, and life skill
development, while providing
family and community
focused programs and events.
Additionally, Curry launched
the youth program in 2003,
which includes free clinic
services to underprivileged
children who may not normally
be able to afford them.
“There are various things
we do under the umbrella of our
youth programs. Currently we
have a high school challenge,
an high school invitational,
and a basketball training and
mentoring program, running
under the umbrella of Big
Apple Basketball,” said Curry.
For Curry, it’s a tremendous
honor to be one of the finalist for
the Coach of the Year Award.
“Whenever I think about
the work I do in the community
with Big Apple Basketball, it’s
not contingent upon receiving
honors but it’s always about
what I can do to be able to
help others achieve their
goals through basketball,”
said Curry. “When there
are opportunities for myself
and the organization to be
recognized in the capacity
like this, it’s a great honor... It
gives us a platform to continue
to be able to spread the word
about what we do at Big Apple
Basketball and our work in
the community, and hopefully
use this to propel other
opportunities that will help us
to be able to help others.”
From Feb. 18 through
Feb. 28, fans can vote for
their favorite coach by going
on the Jr. Knicks Twitter
and retweeting posts for
#CoachJoann or #CoachJason.
The winner will be announced
on court when the Knicks
host the Sacramento Kings on
March 9, where they will win a
$5,000 grant for their program
and will be entered into the
Junior NBA Coach of the
Year contest, sponsored and
administered by the NBA.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718) 260–
4526.
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