The P.L.A.Y. Program

The P.L.A.Y. Academy is a certified basketball camp under the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) guidelines for college Divisions I and II coaches to attend.

LEARN ABOUT LEARNING
For students of color, basketball scholarships can be a ticket to a better future—but only if you have fulfilled the necessary academic requirements. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has established academic guidelines for scholarship-athletes in Propositions 48 and 16. If you can’t meet these guidelines, your scholarship can be denied—and that’s before you even start college. Once you’re in, earning your degree will take at least four years of hard academic work. That’s why P.L.A.Y. emphasizes these skills above everything else. You must have long-range goals to keep you from being frustrated by short-range failures.

SAT/ACT PREPARATION
During P.L.A.Y.’s summer session, 33 hours are spent on SAT/ACT preparation; the follow-up includes a refresher course in the fall. This course is organized and taught by the certified instructors. It is the most thorough SAT/ACT preparation course available. The course concentrates on the verbal and mathematical skills as well as the test-taking techniques that you will need to perform at your highest level on the SAT/ACT. The instructors are enthusiastic and highly trained to make learning fun and stimulating. With commitment and hard work, you’ll raise your scores by a minimum of 100 points!

WORKSHOPS
The summer session includes these additional workshops on classroom skills.

Study Skills, Note Taking and Preparing for College
Dr. Cheryl Stanley, Ph.D. (Professor of Education, Westfield State College). Study strategies for more effective learning, college admission preparation and career exploration. Critical thinking techniques that work! Smarter NOT Harder.

Research—A Key Component of P.L.A.Y.
Juliet Habjan Boissette and Bryan Goodwin, Staff (Library Coordinators, Mount Holyoke College). An introduction to conducting library research on outstanding achievements by African American inventors in America. Learn a step process in doing research at the library.

P.L.A.Y. with Technology, Telecommunications and the Internet
Mr. Jim Burke (Academic Computing Instructor at Mount Holyoke College) and Dr. Joseph Bowman, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor, University of Albany. Technology and Sports are interrelated and everytime you watch a sports activity understand that technology is providing you with pictures, stats and image into your home. Workshops will be developed in Media Literacy, Video Production Training, Multi-Media Design with Computers and Desktop Publishing with computers.

YEAR-ROUND ACADEMIC SUPPORT
Over the 2008-09 school year, P.L.A.Y. will follow up the summer session’s academic portion. You will have three sets of academic progress reports sent to your teachers through the guidance counselor, bimonthly telephone calls and personal visits to your home and school. You’ll also become part of P.L.A.Y.’s extensive tracking system for a minimum of five years, or until you receive your college degree.

Seminar on Women
Dr. Ruth Bass Green Ph.D. Mount Holyoke College (Former Associate Dean of Studies and Multi-Cultural Affairs) Dr. Barbara Coulibaly, Ph.D. (Educational & Management Consultant). Seminar on all forms of violence against women. It may be the biggest human rights issue in the world—and it is certainly one of the least discussed. Preventing rape, battering and sexual harassment. A gentleman is a gentle man.

Conflict Resolution and Mediation Workshop
Dennis S. Jackson and staff (Founder and Director of P.L.A.Y.) A violence prevention program for young adults and people of color, topics include—Just Chill! Designed to help urban students deal constructively with anger management and RESPECT! Encourages students to respect the rights and needs of others. Learn new “prevention and intervention” techniques that are effective in different settings. GANGS...You Decide! Delivers a stunning indictment of gang life. Manhood is a transition that every boy must make. The measure of a man is not what he does on Sunday, but rather who he is Monday through Saturday. Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence.