Head Coach, Dan Gimpel with 2016 Senior Team
Paul Savramis is the founder of the nationally-acclaimed youth foundation Rising Stars. In this brief discussion, Savramis explains why Rising Stars is much more than an after-school basketball program.
Q: What are the core values of Rising Stars?
Paul Savramis: Our main focus has always been on building a solid foundation for the future, both on and off the court. We use basketball as a tool to give our students energy and hope; with each win and in each accomplishment, they realize they can do more for themselves. The confidence earned from these on-the-court victories seeps over into their schoolwork. That’s why we have so many college-bound players each year.
Q: Rising Stars works with a lot of inner city students. Why is bringing these kids together so important?
Paul Savramis: Many of our student athletes have lived through numerous social and economic disadvantages. They are rivals on the street. They don’t trust anyone. When we get these guys and girls together, playing basketball and working toward common goals, we build a whole person. Our goal is to lay the groundwork these students need to make crucial decisions for themselves as they become the next generation of adults.
Q: How old are Rising Stars’ members?
Paul Savramis: We start as early as 4th grade and train, tutor, and support students into their college years.
Q: Do you believe that focusing on school translates into better performance on the court?
Paul Savramis: Without a doubt. Our students must maintain a high grade point average to play. For many, this is often their first set of personal responsibilities. When these kids learn that they must work for what they want in order to play on a team, they take both their education and the game more seriously. Over the last 20 years, this strategy has worked and we have not only nurtured star athletes such as Jay Williams,Joakim Noah and over 35 others that went on to play professionally, but we’ve also sent hundreds of other boys and girls to whom basketball became secondary to other dreams and aspirations, off to major universities.For Rising Stars,seeing these student athletes graduate top schools with top honors is as great if not greater a feeling of pride as those that go on to achieve athletic success.
It is also many of these boys and girls,other than those that play professionally,that are the first to return to Rising Stars as coaches,mentors and supporters.