By Dan Murphy
One of the great parts of the Yonkers Police Athletic League is that it touches the lives of many young boys and girls and offers them an alternative to hanging out on the streets. One of the PAL programs is after-school basketball, when on most weekdays, the PAL gym is open for kids to come in and play basketball in a safe environment.
Two PAL alumni from the after-school basketball program are Jordan Rowe and Troy Edwards, who both graduated from Palisades Prep High School a few years ago. Both are now achieving academic success at Utica College, where they play on the basketball team.
Troy and Jordan met each other in the sixth grade. “Once we joined our middle school basketball team, we looked for a place to stay out of trouble and work on our game and improve so we could make the varsity basketball team someday,” said Rowe. “The PAL gave us that option – we were at the PAL every day until we graduated from high school.”
Eventually, both Edwards and Rowe did make it on the Palisades Prep varsity basketball team and had the fortune of having a great coach, Sean Stahn. “Coach Stahn taught us the essential traits of mental toughness, determination, and being coachable,” said Edwards.
But before they got on the Palisade Prep team, two members of the PAL were influential in transforming their lives and getting them to think of a better future – John Harrigan and Charlie Gebbia.
“The PAL was a significant part of my adolescent years and that’s because of John and Charlie, two upstanding members of our community who gave us the opportunity to express ourselves through their mentoring,” said Edwards. “We always got a checkup phone call or text with nothing but praise or support on the other end of the line.”
Rowe added: “John and Charlie were always very prominent figures in our lives. They helped us become CPR certified and helped us getting summer jobs and took us to Playland throughout our teenage years. We make it a priority to stay in close contact with them even when we are away at school.”
The bond that developed between Rowe and Edwards and the PAL is still strong, despite the two being away at college for three years now. They still return to the PAL to talk to kids and show them where they are today.
“The best part is coming back here and still seeing that they are still the same caring individuals we met when we were just 12 years old and showing young kids that the mindset we gained from playing basketball helped us to continue to achieve academic success and reach any goal we set for ourselves at Utica college,” said Edwards. “And It all started in the sixth grade here at the PAL.”
Edwards is entering his senior year at Utica this fall and has a dual major of government and politics, and financial fraud investigations. He hopes to find a career in the banking industry.
Rowe said he hopes to become a crime scene investigator upon his graduation from Utica. This summer, the two are working summer jobs – Jordan at Dunkin Donuts on North Broadway, and Troy at Dr. Pepper in Elmsford. When they are not working you may find both at the PAL – shooting a few shots, talking to the kids and reliving their youth, when they learned about how to stay off the streets, go to college, and live productive lives.
We wish both Jordan and Troy continued success.
