New York native, Coach Kenneth Danzy is more than a coach.  He is truly committed to teaching young people about healthy habits, helping them develop good physical fitness, furthering their education, and yes, coaching their basketball team.  I think it's safe to say that Coach Danzy is devoting his life to teaching through sports and enriching lives both on and off the court.

Coach Danzy received his Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and just this year, got his Masters in P.E. with a concentration in Coaching Pedagogy.  He was been teaching P.E. for 4 years and coaching basketball for 14!  He has coached AAU boys and girls travel teams, middle school teams, and is the assistant coach for the boys' varsity team at Albany High School in New York.  He enjoys teaching and coaching for the Albany public school system, but he "really scores points" with his after school volunteer activities.

Coach Danzy and a high school teammate, Coach Torson Fullard, started an AAU traveling basketball team called Umoja TWO that focuses on both basketball instruction and educational services.  Umoja means "unity" and T.W.O. is the acronym for the "The Way Out."  In Umoja TWO's first season in 2008 it won the Kingz of the Court tournament and Adirondack AAU Spring League Championship.

The 2009 season brought new challenges when the team moved up to the 12 and under division with only 2 players from last season returning.  Umoja TWO currently has the core group of student-athletes it wants for the future that will compete nationally in 2 years.  The team is just learning to play together and the coaches are really proud of their player's efforts and commitment levels thus far.  Currently, Umoja TWO is 4 - 2 in league play and are on their way to Siena College team camp June 26 - 28.



Not only is Coach Danzy committed to his athletes' performance on the court, but he's also focused on their education in the classroom.  Going forward his team is partnering with Ms. White, an 8th grade English teacher.  She'll be heading up a Summer Reading Enrichment Program to help with reading, writing, and test preparation.  Umoja TWO team members will be required to complete a project at the end of the summer and present it to their classroom teacher.

Coach Danzy's eleven-year-old son, Keneef, plays for Umoja TWO.  He also has a 14-year old, Jahara, and a seven-year-old, Kadeen.  Coach Danzy said he was blown away by the honor to be nominated for a Coach of the Week award and he wanted to thank his fiancé, Danielle, for being so supportive of him and the team.  He said he enjoys using Weplay as a communication tool to let everyone know about Umoja TWO's progress.  He loves how easy it is for the team to share highlights and pictures and his players have said they love the drills and tips.

Coach Danzy offered a few words of advice on coaching the student athlete:

"What I would recommend to other coaches is continue to learn more about the game of basketball.  Quality instruction is a vital point when dealing with young athletes.  Stay on top of the new research, drills, strategies and equipment so that your players are able to reach peak performance.   Also try your best to service the whole student-athlete not just the basketball part.  Try to stay in tune with your athlete's social, emotional and academic health.  After all, problems in one of those domains could bring anxiety and result in poor performance."