A lot has changed since Tony DePhillips formed a local youth sports organization back in 1949. Now in its 60th year serving northeast Queens, the DePhillips Athletic Club (DAC) serves over 600 kids ages 5-18 who participate in its baseball, basketball and NFL flag football programs.
Enrollment has swelled, the variety of sports has increased and a girls program was established. However, perhaps the most striking change at DAC is showing up on the sidelines, the scorer’s table and the bench – a proliferation of high school and college age student volunteers.
“There was a time when your Little League coach was always someone’s father, but not anymore” says longtime DAC parent, coach and Commissioner Steve Gross. According to DAC president Tom Hubany, “Volunteers are the lifeblood of any youth sports organization, and we are grateful for our student volunteers.” Hubany continues, “The concept of kids teaching kids is a win-win situation. The student volunteers seem to enjoy what they do and the players are receptive to their mentoring.”
There are many factors influencing the trend toward student sports volunteers. In today’s tough economic environment, many parents are working overtime or have multiple jobs leaving almost no precious free time to coach and practice with a team. Other parents are not familiar enough with the nuances of a sport to effectively teach the game. At the same time, high schools and colleges are encouraging students to perform community service. Volunteering in youth sports is a fun way to fulfill these requirements.
“The beauty of the DAC student volunteers is that they show up for all the right reasons. Many started with the organization as babies,” points out coach and board member John Zullo. Take for instance the brother and sister combination of Kalyn and Billy Faller. Both started playing sports with DAC since they were 5-years-old. Kalyn is currently a student coach in the developmental basketball program. Billy, a student at Holy Cross High School coaches a basketball team in the sophomore league along with co-coach Anthony Sibilio, a DAC senior league player and fellow Holy Cross student.
For Matt DiGirolomo coaching is truly a family affair. Matt also started DAC at age five. Now a student at Quinnipiac University, Matt coached a summer travel baseball team. His father Bob coaches his younger brother in the 9-10 age level.
Twenty-two-year-old Frankie Chung, another former DAC player has been coaching his nephew’s basketball team for the past four years. Ditto for Sean Flynn, who decided to coach his younger brother’s basketball team last season just because DAC was a league that “gave me so much.” Sean’s brother Brian is now in college, but Flynn continues to coach even though he no longer has any family ties because in his words, “I got so much enjoyment from coaching that I decided to do it again this year and hopefully for many more years to come.”
The NFL Flag Football program is not without its cadre of student coaches. James Wolfin, 15, not only serves as an offensive coordinator for an 8-9 year old flag team; he also assists his dad Steve who heads the entire flag program. Jesse Ward and David Bylik are also two high school students who play multiple sports for DAC and yet still find time to coach in the younger 8-9 year old division.
Coaching is not the only way to lend a hand. Christina McGarry, a sophomore at The Mary Louis Academy can usually be found at the scorers table of the 11-12-year-old basketball league. Christina does a great job with either clock management or the scorebook. During the baseball season, she has been known to set up food and refreshments. In the fall she manages the Flag Football information booth.
Jon Blum is the epitome of community service. Now 21, Blum originally came into DAC the same time as its current president Tom Hubany, who coincidentally coached Blum as a 6-year-old. Blum has coached baseball and basketball for the past three seasons and is currently a student teacher at a local parish. Coaching according to Blum “Provides me with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. All of my players have returned each year.” As commissioner Gross said last week, “If all of your players come back, it means you did something right.”
DAC allows every kid to play at least half of each game regardless of skill level. John Zullo ponders, “Think of all the kids who don’t try sports because they think they aren’t good enough. What happens to those kids? They should have the chance to develop a love for the game and perhaps turn into a future coach or mentor to a child.”
