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Castle Athletics Announces Tryout Schedule for 10U-14U Teams
September 15, 2016
Castle Athletics today announced its tryout schedule for its boys and girls 10U-14U teams. These teams will compete during the Fall and Winter in leagues and selected tournaments. Similar to Castle’s Spring and Summer teams, team members will be required to attend academic and social enrichment sessions for one hour before each practice.
Tryouts will be held at three facilities, P.S. 7 (located at 160 E. 120th Street, New York, NY), P.S. 96 (located at 216 E. 120th Street, New York, NY) and Minisink (located at 646 Malcom X Blvd., New York, NY). The youngest teams, Boys and Girls 10U, will have tryouts on Saturday mornings, September 24, 2016 and October 1, 2016 only, while the other teams will have tryout sessions on four dates over the two-week period. Castle encourages all players interested to attend all sessions in order to allow evaluators the most opportunities to view players.
For a complete listing of the tryout schedule, please see the attached fliers:
Castle Announces Lady Knights Senior Coaches for 2016-2017
September 13, 2016
Castle Athletics proudly announced today the coaching staff for their 17U-14U Lady Knights teams. Brian Rosen, President of Castle, said “we have been looking towards the development of the girls’ side of Castle for several years. While we have made progress, with this infusion of excellent and experienced coaching talent, the program will be on a par with the best programs in the country. We have brought in some of the finest coaches who are dedicated to the development of young women on an academic and athletic basis.”
Leading the senior team will be Mercedes Dukes and Tom Catalanotto. Coach Dukes played for Monsignor Scanlan High School (where she gained All-State honors and won a Federation title) and went on to star at St. John’s University and play internationally. She has been an assistant coach at Scanlan since 2012 under Coach Catalanotto, and has coached “AAU” teams including the Belles and the NY Heat. Coach Catalanotto brings over twenty years of high school coaching experience and dominance to the Castle program. As the former head coach of Archbishop Molloy, Coach Catalanotto won three Catholic championships and three Federation championships. Since 2012, Coach Tom has taken a then-struggling Scanlan Crusader team and lead them to the heights of the Catholic League, with this year moving into “AA” division. He has also lead numerous girls AAU programs. Rosen said that “we cannot be happier that Tom and Mercedes have joined the program. We have pursued them for several years because we have seen their commitment to the leadership of young women. Their addition will jumpstart the program.”
Coach Emilee Christopher is moving up the Castle ranks to take on the 16U team. For the past two years, Coach Christopher has lead the Castle 14U girls team. Emilee played collegiately at North Carolina A&T and was a standout scholastic player in North Carolina. She has a Masters Degree from Harvard University and has coached the Girls Prep Charter School squad for a number of years. Assisting Coach Christopher will be Percell Dugger. Coach Dugger, a former collegiate athlete is one of the foremost trainers in NYC. He and Coach Christopher have coached together for the past two years and their teamwork has helped form a tremendous foundation for the high school-aged girls teams.
Castle Coaches Get Together to Plan for 2016-2017
Continuing with the 15U team will be Coach Roger Red Collier, the old lion of girls basketball in NYC. Coach Red has been with the Castle Lady Knights for several years and, each year, he has taken his teams to dizzying heights of success. He instills the fundamentals of team basketball while working on individual skills. Besides doing his miracle work for Castle, Coach Red leads the Aquinas squad in the Catholic League and is an Assistant Coach for the Hostos Community College Womens team.
Rounding out the Senior Division is Coach Jackee Meadow who will be leading the Girls’ 14U team. Rosen said that, “sometimes you just get lucky and, in this case, we discovered gold.” Coach Meadow has served as Athletic Director and Womens’ Head Coach at City College of New York, Womens’ Head Coach at Hunter College and, now, has taken over the reins at Kipp NYC to lead the girls’ high school team. Coach Meadow teaches numerous clinics and champions many charitable and educational causes.
While the 14U program will get underway shortly, the balance of the Senior Division will pick up following the high school season. The coaches have already been setting the 2016-2017 schedule and coordinating to further develop a unified program.
Players interested in participating on any of the Castle Lady Knights teams should watch the Castle website for details of the tryout schedule.
Castle High School Teams Travel the Country/NYC Tourneys Next
August 2, 2016
Castle's girls and boys high school-aged teams finished their "Live" period of hoops traveling the country to play in some of the most prestigious and competitive tournaments.
The Lady Knights barnstormed through Kentucky, Tennessee, Maryland, D.C. and Georgia, playing in tournaments such as the Run4the Roses, Real Deal in the Ville, Battle of the Boro, Apache Classic, East Coast Championships, USJN Nationals and the Peach State Elite Sessions. The teams played exceptionally well, with players garnering offers and expressions of interests from numerous colleges.
The Knights went up and down the East Coast playing in Charlotte at the Battle of the Best and then at Spooky Nook at the Summer Jam Fest. They followed that up with a trip to Las Vegas to play in the Adidas Summer Championships and the Big Foot Las Vegas Classic. Both the 16U and 15U squads went deep at each tournament, the 16U team finally falling in the Sweet 16 of the Championship Bracket of the Adidas tournament. The 15U, playing in the Gold Bracket made it to the Elite Eight. Players from all three teams were recognized for their superlative play, and several have gained major offers as a result.
Many thanks to the coaches for their months of dedication and devotion to their players and the Castle ethos that education matters and is the key to success.
Although the "Live" period is over, fame and fortune in New York is claimed by what you do on the asphalt at the playground tournaments. Castle teams are entered throughout the City in tournaments such as Funsport, Positive Influence, Just Say No, Ballin Out Loud, Future Talent and Gladiator Sports. Step out and support our student athletes.