Dan Corria of East Providence, president for a year and a half of the board of directors in the all-volunteer nonprofit Team Providence Athletic AAU, has been involved with the program for about 10 years. A division of the national American Amateur Union organization, which provides national tournaments and insurance coverage, among other benefits, Team Providence provides sports play for youths 11 to 17 in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. Here, Corria discusses the mission and his work at the organization.
PBN: When did you join Team Providence Athletics and what are your goals as president?
CORRIA: I joined Team Providence the second year after it was created. The first year of Team Providence Athletics, I was coaching for another program. Then the following year, I finally joined the basketball program. We do have a mission statement that I am totally dedicated to. The quote I always like to state is: “I can’t make you a superstar, but I can help you reach your full potential.”
That means we want our student-athletes to not only be great players, but, to excel in life, become productive citizens and to someday continue the tradition of giving back to the community. We also will continue to have college visits for our students. This will give them a great understanding of the college environment that is out there for them.
The mission statement reads, in part: “Team Providence Athletics is dedicated to assisting every student-athlete to develop into a responsible, productive adult.”
PBN: What is the most important programming you provide youth and how many young people are involved each year?
CORRIA: From year to year we may have 70 to 150 student-athletes in the program.
While there are other AAU basketball programs in Rhode Island, we are the only such program in the state that is primarily dedicated to serving the inner-city youth population with an educational foundation. AAU tournaments are expensive and most teams require players to pay large fees to participate. Through fundraising, Team Providence offers players who cannot afford these fees an opportunity to play. To date, we have not allowed the financial inability of our players to keep them from enjoying an important advantage that more affluent youth pay to experience.
PBN: As a longstanding basketball and baseball coach, what do you feel are the most important life lessons you impart to those you coach?
CORRIA: I volunteer for a number of organizations, including the Ruthie Corria Scholarship Program and the Cape Verdean Progressive Center, both in East Providence. It always the same: To help people reach their potential. Today, students are the target of so many negative forces out there, trying to break their spirit, looking at them as a commodity for financial gain.
We try to teach youth to be prepared at all times to meet the challenges in life. I tell them, the way you practice is the way you play. That can be transferred to everything in life. We all know that if you don’t do your homework, you cannot be successful in school.
PBN: You have seven Team Providence athletes playing at the college level. How do you help your athletes make that transition from high school to college?
CORRIA: I have had more than seven students attend college. Our program has produced some outstanding college players. As can be expected, all of our students didn’t play college ball. Some have gone on to Providence College, the University of Rhode Island, and Johnson and Wales and Duke universities, to name a few. During our class sessions, it is explained to them that at each new level they reach, more is expected of them; that a time will come when their success, or lack of success, will have a major impact on the lives of others. We warn about putting personal information and what they say on the various media platforms. We tell them that college offers more than academics; they will have a chance to meet some very interesting people. We suggest time management with their studies and social activities is very important. We say: Don’t allow others to label you. Have a plan as to what you want to do in life. Set goals and milestones.
PBN: What is the biggest challenge to keeping this nonprofit going and how are you addressing it?
CORRIA: Our greatest challenges are twofold. First, we try to raise money to help those students who don’t have the funds to leverage their basketball skills into a college or trade education. Depending on the age group, it will dictate how much it will cost to sponsor each team. But as a rule, we need about $7,000 for each team. We are constantly looking for funds from various companies or asking for classrooms and gym time from local schools.
Second, we urge them not to become discouraged. Some students are successful and have different levels of success. You see them go off to college or trade schools, become successful. But there are those that I haven’t been as successful with, and that really hurts.
In closing, Team Providence Athletics is a nonprofit organization that works with low-income pre-teen and adolescent students who would like the opportunity to escape the struggles of their environment. In our program, they will have an opportunity to explore college possibilities and a path toward a better future. In addition, our programs and access to our programs are not limited to athletes; they are available and utilized for any middle/high school student in the area.
