It's been a busy summer for Rising Stars Executive Director Dan Gimpel, and the fall has been even busier.
As the Rising Stars Youth Foundation turns 30 this year, the responsibilities of keeping the program's mission Paul Savramis put together in 1996 continues to be Gimpel's top priority.
Gimpel was a Rising Star himself growing up in Queens, NY, and he played for Paul Savramis throughout high school, so his story is part of Rising Stars’ history. It's one story that he won't ever forget.
As Gimpel explains it, "I really wouldn't be where I am today if Paul Savramis hadn't given me the chance to be a part of Rising Stars. I lived the Rising Stars mission, and I have seen it work for a great many others like me."
Gimpel took on the duties of Executive Director in 2002. He joined Paul Savramis, Jay and Althea Williams, and a team of educators that worked with his coaches in providing the same opportunities that student-athletes need to succeed today that he was given.
"As a player, I never realized how involved the work that went into what I actually had was," Gimpel will tell you. "Paul Savramis's simple message, and the Rising Stars mission, 'To Promote Education,' was such an easy thing to say, but as I began to really look at it, I realized how hard it was to actually do. Especially when you look at the end game of graduating every Rising Stars student college-ready, and issue-free."
That, Gimpel will tell you, is definitely easier said than done!
To do that, Gimpel will add, takes much more than just coaching teams. It takes getting to know the players on the court, and helping them to navigate the challenges they will face off the court. To make that a reality, Gimpel does much more than sit behind a desk.
Gimpel coaches, and he helps in the yearly training of Rising Stars players. Gimpel's teams of eighth and ninth graders are made up of boys who have been with Rising Stars since elementary school, some since kindergarten. These students, like so many others in Rising Stars, are more than just a team. They have grown together as a family, building friendships that will stay with them for life.
Gimpel knows how important it is to be hands-on in providing a bridge between athletics, academics, family, and community. He leads others within Rising Stars by example and by taking his own teams through the maze of their formative years.
"Our description of utilizing basketball, and the power of teams to develop values children need to make correct decisions in high school is a full-time job, and that job is anything but an easy one," Gimpel will now say. "I will still go to Paul Savramis (Rising Stars Founder) with problems and ask for advice! I also keep asking myself if the extra time and effort is worth it." Paul Savramis founded the organization on the belief that it is. "But then, I will see these kids, that I remember in grade school, graduating high school, and being there the day they are accepted to college... and my answer is, absolutely!"
This September, Gimpel took his group to a national tournament in Pennsylvania, and they won. He reflected on his role as a coach, and he was happy with the team's win. But, as players and families came together after the game to let him know what his being there meant, his reflection went on to what Rising Stars means for them. It brings back what Rising Stars has meant to him, and all it has done for him, and he realizes that all of it was more than worth the effort. Paul Savramis would certainly agree.
