Baruch’s Dylan Minnick inspires young athletes at CUNY championship match
John Jay tops Baruch in championship clash
Friday night was a big night for college hoops with Baruch College and John Jay squaring off for the championship. Even though Baruch fell to John Jay, it was still a special night for team Captain Dylan Minnick, who, as FOX 5 NY's Jennifer Williams shows us, has a special cheering section of kids made up of a local basketball program that he also coaches.
NEW YORK CITY - Young basketball fans witnessed championship action as Baruch hosted John Jay in a battle for the CUNY title on Friday night in Chelsea.
The Bearcats attracted a younger crowd as the next generation of ballers came out to support Captain Dylan Minnick, who they know as "Coach Dylan", through the Steady Buckets program.
About the Steady Buckets program
The backstory:
Steady Buckets runs coaching clinics 7-days a week free of charge for kids throughout the city.
Minnick grew up through the program and is now giving back as a coach.
"All these little kids cheering for him. That was him. Now he’s out there playing at a high level trying to go to the NCAA tournament. He’s got hundreds of kids supporting him. It doesn’t get better than that for community basketball experience, you can’t beat it," Founder and Director of Steady Buckets, Mackey Bergman said.
Parents, team members cheer on Minnick at Baruch College
What they're saying:
"Coach Dylan of the Bearcats has been coaching my son for like the last two years. It’s amazing. He’s teaching them how to be leaders, and he’s showing himself as a leader on the court," a father said.
"It's really fun, and he's our coach, and he always supports us," a kid from the Steady Buckets program said.
"He's so inspiring, and he just inspires me so much," another kid from the Steady Buckets program said. "I love watching him play, and I've learned so much from watching him."
The Bearcats are the defending CUNY champions and are trying to solidify their fourth straight trip to the D-3 Dance with a win on home court at Arc Arena over the Bloodhounds, but regardless of the outcome, the night was bigger than basketball.
"It’s great to know this whole community is just a big family. I’m just really feel like I’m giving back to these kids. I grew up in the program since I was eight years old, and I just feel like I’m giving it back, and I feel amazing to get the love and support from them.
As a result, Baruch lost to John Jay, but it was another lesson for these young students of the game to learn.