Community

Industry Insights

How Nassau Pride Delivers Affordable AAU Experiences to the Long Island Community

profile
By LeagueApps
June 7, 2017
2 min
Credit: Nassau Pride Facebook

Credit: Nassau Pride Facebook

Sports Organization of the Month: May

Nassau Pride is a Long Island based AAU basketball organization. The program was founded in 2012 with the focus of providing affordable AAU experiences to the Hicksville, Bethpage, Westbury, and Levittown areas.

“At the time, it was becoming apparent that local AAU teams charged close to $1200 per season to practice and play competitive basketball,” boys fifth-grade head coach Anthony Diaz said. “So, when we founded the Pride, we eliminated certain payments to the coach.”

It’s with this reason that Anthony and the Nassau Pride were able to make playing basketball more affordable to the Long Island community.

“We figured out that the real cost could be close to or below $300 per season per child,” he added.

Learn more about the Organization of the Month.

It still takes a dedicated squad of volunteers to help make the Pride so affordable. But that dedication has helped grow the organization from a couple of boys teams to five boys and girls teams as well as one baseball team under the Nassau Pride umbrella.

The teams have come a long way since 2012. It took some time to build a competitive program, but now the boys and girls teams are competing in finals of local and regional tournaments. The development of the program both on and off the court while maintaining affordable prices to families in the Long Island community is something Anthony takes pride in.

It’s been an uphill battle for Anthony and the hard working volunteers of the Nassau Pride as they try to compete with some of the larger organizations and programs in the area. But they’re ready for the challenge as they have stayed consistent with their mission.

“The fact that we are able to compete at a high level while being so affordable is something that makes us truly unique,” Anthony said.

“We aren’t satisfied with just being competitive though! Our coaches are truly dedicated to getting the kids to reach their maximum potential through developing their skills on and off the court.”

The Nassau Pride’s home facilities are located at NX Gen Athletics in Westbury, New York and the Henry Kaufman Sports and Events Center in Wheatley Heights.

Do you know a sports organization that you want to nominate for Organization of the Month? Click here to submit.