Those who bear in mind Kim Penney from her teaching days at Reading know all about her ardour and tenacity on the sidelines.
It’s these traits which led Tom Hellen to imagine that she was the best candidate to proceed the Best of the Best Showcase that Hellen and Brian Harris developed. This 12 months’s occasion will happen on Sunday, Sept. 18 at Babson College from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“She’s a class act, she’s the perfect person to do it,” Hellen mentioned. “Brian and I like to think that we did it for the right reasons. Our goal was always to help kids, parents and coaches find the right fit for them to play their college basketball and Kim is the same way. So many kids try to play Division 1 and 2 college basketball and wind up transferring.”
Penney coached at Reading from 1998-2013 and her groups have been famend for the way in which they performed the sport. Her 2012 group went 25-0 and captured the varsity’s first Div. 2 state title. During her time, she despatched numerous gamers to the Best of the Best Showcase and cherished the idea.
“Tom and Brian created a great event for all the right reasons and I wanted to keep it going,” mentioned Penney, who based One-on-One College Consulting. “It was a great showcase, a perfect platform for kids who wanted to play Division 2 and 3 college basketball. It was always a good vehicle for seniors who might not have found their (college) home, help find them a match and have fun doing it.”
As a lot as Penney relished the chance to proceed the Showcase, she admitted feeling just a little stress. Hellen and Harris supplied a terrific template for feminine basketball gamers to indicate off their skills and the very last thing she needed was to decrease the product.
“I was very nervous early on,” Penney mentioned. “We didn’t have big numbers right away, so I reached out to a lot of people and they were awesome. Laurie Bollin (Bay State Jaguars) stepped up and said she would support us, my old AAU teammate Antonia “Shorty” Macklin was an enormous assist and he or she’s bringing a few of her present gamers to the showcase.
“(Former Reading star) Jackie Lyons has been superior in serving to me with the media. She’s doing Hardwood Hustle, which helps youngsters of all ages and I’m simply so proud. Tom and Brian mentioned they might be round to assist and (former nice Reading nice) Olivia Healy mentioned she was arising.
“I was thinking that we might get 60-70 kids, but thanks to all the help, we have more than 80 and I’m thinking now we can get to 120.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com