PS4 Soccer Teams Go To The Fall Frenzy

Our soccer teams, sponsored by America SCORES NY, recently participated in the annual SCORES NY Fall Frenzy at Jacob H. Schiff Park in Harlem! They played three 15-minute games and shared a poem about teamwork! Take a look at the video below to hear their poem! 

More than 200 America SCORES NY students, 100 parents and friends celebrated the accomplishments of our athletes and poets at this annual event.  For more information about our soccer program, contact Coach Keys or Coach Ovalle.  Special thanks to PS4 parents, Ms. Acosta for another great photo!   Click here to check out more photos on the America Scores NY Facebook Page!

America SCORES NY Brings Soccer Back to PS4

Coach Ovalle poses with his athletes from PS4's America SCORES NY girls soccer team.

Recently, America SCORES NY prepared to host more than 200 poet-athletes on the Jacob Schiff Field (138th Street and Amsterdam) in Harlem for the first game day of the 2016-2017 season! America SCORES NY is the only after-school provider to combine soccer, poetry, and service learning into one comprehensive program that emphasizes physical activity and health, creative expression and literacy, and civic engagement.  America SCORES NY currently partners with 14 public schools in West Harlem and Washington Heights.  Click here for more information.

Congratulations to both the girls and boys soccer teams from PS4 for their win at America SCORES first game day! Led by Coach Keys and Coach Ovalle, both teams even received a visit from Conner Lade of the NY Red Bulls! Special thanks to Ms. Acosta for the photos! 

Coach Keys and Coach Ovalle pose with both the America SCORES NY boys and girls teams from PS4.

PS4 Girls Basketball Team Wins Championship

Once again the girls PS4 basketball team are champions of the Turn-2 Us League!  During the February championship game, the Lady Wolves defeated their uptown rivals from PS48 by a score of 14 -13. The game came down to the last seconds and PS4's defense sealed the championship. Coach Sarah was very proud of her team and so was Coach Keys who had mentored the team and taught them some defenses that helped them win. "They played hard from the first game to the last", said Coach Keys. As always, the girls showed a competitive nature that could not be beat. This championship marks the fourth championship for the girls in the Turn 2 Us League.

Congratulations to the PS4 Girls Basketball Team!

The Duke Boys Win Again!

Coach Keys motivates his team during a game against PS192.

  

Last Friday's game was a big game for The Wolves! They were competing against their downtown rivals from PS192.  The last time these teams played against each other, PS4 lost by one point. With this game at home court, Coach Keys thought the game was a "statement" game. "We have to beat them to get a higher seat than them in the playoffs", he said.  With a victory against PS192, PS4 would jump ahead of them in the playoff standings. "This is a big game", said Coach Keys.

PS4 won the game by a score of 35-22. They improved their record to 4 wins and 2 losses. The Wolves were led by their power forward, Derek G.  He led The Wolves with 14 points!  Despite a great effort from the opposing team, PS4 won the game by 13 points. "Things are looking good for the new year", said Coach Keys. "We are peaking at the right time."

The Boys Take a Loss

Photo of recent boys basketball game against PS28.

After starting the game with turnovers, The Wolves fell behind during the most recent game against their rivals down the street; PS28. When the game was over, The Wolves would be on the losing end of a 29 -19 game. "The turnovers killed us", said Coach Keys.  "We gave the ball away in too may key situations and we can't win games like that."

The loss came two days after a victory against PS173.   This year, looks like a strong contender on the road to the Turn2 Us championships, with a record of 3 wins and 2 losses. Coach Keys is looking forward to winning some games before the Holiday Break.

New Year, New Seaon, New Coach!

This year, the PS4 Wolves will be led by Coach Keys! After a two year absence, Coach Keys will be preparing the boys team for domination in this year's Turn 2 Us League, funded by New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Derek Jeter's Turn 2 Foundation. After winning two championships with the girls' team, Coach Keys is once again ready to take the boys team to new heights.

Just like last year, the competition will be steep as the boys will be competing against teams from all over District 6.  PS128 will also be coming back into the league after a two year absence. Expectations will be high, as Coach Keys will be coaching some of his returning players from last year including Carlos H., Derick H. and Carlos E., who are now 5th graders.  Let's hope that this year will be a championship year for The Wolves. Practices have already started and the season officially starts on October 25th.  Go Wolves!

For more information about Turn 2 Us, please contact Dr. Montanez, Program Manager or click here!

It's Championship Time!

On Friday, February 1st, the PS4 Lady Wolves will be playing their uptown rivals at PS48 for the Turn 2 Us Championship! They are hoping to defend the title that they won last year. "We are definitely ready. We have been working very hard in practice and the girls are very excited", says Coach Keys. "After losing our only game in the last two years to the same team that we are playing, I think our girls are ready to win and bring the championship home to Duke Ellington."

The game will be held at PS192/325, located at 500 W138th Street. But, Coach Keys doesn't think that it will be a disadvantage to play on a court at another school. "We have played on that court many times! Our team will be ready to compete." We wish the Girls Basketball Team the best of luck!

Girls Remain Undefeated

Coach Keys and Dr. Montanez with the PS4 Lady Wolves

Once the again, the PS4 Lady Wolves showed their dominance in the Turn-2 Us League. They defeated their opponents from PS115 by a score of 19 - 8. The score could have been even higher but Coach Keys made sure that everyone played and not just the starting five players. " I don't like to run up the score." Said Coach Keys after the game.

High scores were from Gracelyn J. and Genesis R. who led the team to a home victory. Right now, Coach Keys has his eyes set on the next game. It will be a home game against their rivals from PS48 on Friday, January 25th. Coach Keys hopes to keep the team undefeated all the way to the playoffs and to the championship game.

PS4's Lady Wolves Go Undefeated

Now that the Lady Wolves are 2- 0, it's time to recognize their greatness!  Last year, they won the championship in the Girls' Turn 2 Us League!  Since going undefeated, the Lady Wolves are a combined 20 - 0 since the start of the season.  Their first victory of the season was by a score of 23-11 against PS325.  "We have a really good team this year", says Coach Keys. "We work hard and prepare like we are playing the best. That's how you become the best."

PS4 Lady Wolves with Coach Keys and Dr. Montanez

The latest game was a second victory on home court, beating PS115 by a score of 22-7.  It was an important game for Coach Keys.  "The girls were well prepared and they showed good sportsmanship.  They were great listeners.  I project we'll do well this year!"  Greisly M. (class 502) achieved the team's highest points of the game with 12 points and Johanna D. (class 521) made 8 points.

Congratulations to PS4's Lady Wolves and Coach Keys for thier skills on the court.  Special thanks goes to Dr. Montanez and the Turn-2-Us Foundation for making sure sports programs stay in our school.  To see a post from last year's winning basketball team, click here!

Lady Wolves Win Championship!

2011-2012 Girl's Basketball Team

On February 15th, the PS4 Girls Basketball team defeated PS48 with a score of 15-9 in the championship game. It was the second girls' championship in The Turn-2-Us League and the first for Coach Keys as Girls' Basketball Team Coach (third overall).  "It was an amazing game. I am glad that we won. The girls played hard and made some big shots at the end", said Coach Keys after the big game. The game was played at PS192/325 in Washington Heights and was a great way to end the season for The Lady Wolves. Student athletes Daryleidy G. (523) and Sabrina T. (520) were key players in the championship victory. The girls are already looking forward to the second season so they can earn some more victories to put on their record.

Congratulations again to Coach Keys and The Lady Wolves!  To see more photos of highlights from previous games played by the Girl's Basketball Team, click here.

PS4 Teams Travel to Columbia University

Last month, both the Boys and Girls' basketball teams traveled to Columbia University to see how a Division 1 basketball team practices on a university court. Dr. Evelyn Montanez, the Executive Director of The Turn To Us Program, thought that exposing the boys and girls to student athletes on a higher level would be a good model for them. "I think it is important for our kids to see how student-athletes behave on a higher level. This is Columbia University...an Ivy League school. While basketball is important, students still pay attention to their studies and maintain a high grade point average." The students were very happy to go on this trip and learned a lot by watching the practice. Who knows, said Coach Harris, "maybe one of our boys or girls will be playing basketball at Columbia University in the not so distant future."

Girls Basketball Team Wins First Game!

Coach Keys and the Girl's Basketball team played against PS173 on Thursday, winning their first game 17-0!  Congratulations to the following members:

2011-2012 Girls Basketball Team

Daryleidy G. (501)
Matiah L. (501)
Noelia A. (501)
Kaitlyn C. (501)
Sabrina T. (520)
Xiara R. (520)
Erika M. (520)
Katherine R (520)
Shanice G. (520)
Carolina C. (523)
Nayely U. (523)
Dayanil P. (523)
Daniela G. (521)
Johanna D. (421)
Henessey A. (423)

PS 4 Beats PS 28!

PS 4 beat PS 28, with a score of 28 -27. This is yet another win for The Mighty Dukes! Thanks to some great playing by Gabriel P. and Antonio C., PS 4 was able to finally defeat the Turn To US champs from PS 28. "Gabriel did a lot of the small things that helped our team. He did not turn the ball over and he even called an important timeout", said Coach Keys, Head Coach of the PS 4 basketball team. Played at PS 28 on April 15, the game was very close from start to finish. According to Coach Keys," if Antonio C. had not played so well, PS 4 would never have had the chance to win the game at all." Antonio had 18 points and he even made the game winning shot with 5 seconds left!

Things are looking good for The Mighty Dukes! Despite losing the game before this one, Coach Keys believes his basketball players are now working together at the right time. "After about a year of playing basketball, this team is really beginning to come together and play the right way", he says. "When they play this way, I don't think there is any team they can't beat."

The Lady Dukes Take a Loss

Last week, The Lady Dukes lost to a Bronx School with a score of 22 - 6. Although the Lady Dukes did not play that well they did try hard. The team from The Bronx was very good with their point guard putting on an all - star performance. But, there were some good moments that came from efforts of The Lady Dukes. Aileen R. scored two baskets. Those four points seemed to give her more confidence. Hennesey A. showed a lot of courage for a third grader. The PS4 girls basketball team may have lost this game, but Coach Keys an Coach Harris are seeing a lot of improvement!

The Lady Dukes Win!

In their first basketball game at PS4, The Lady Dukes won Thursday's game against PS28, with a score of 10 - 6! Led by Coach Keys, The Lady Dukes played a game that was both a fun and tough battle. Thanks to the two baskets scored by their power forward Ayleen R. of class 501, PS4 was able to win the game. "They have been practicing hard so I am glad they came out on top", said Coach Keys after the game. Center Sabrina T. also played well and often took the ball from the other players right out of their hands! Starting point guard, Victoria R., whose Mom watched from the side lines, moved quickly on the basketball court and managed to dribble past other girls.

Congratulations to the Lady Dukes of PS4! Keep up the good work!

PS4's Basketball Season Comes To An End

PS4's Turn To Us basketball season came to an end last Friday when they lost to rival school, PS 132. The score was 28 -19 in the semi - final basketball game that determined who was going to play in the championship game. The boys of PS4 tried their best against their arch - rivals of PS 132. "They just outplayed us in some aspects of the game" said Coach Keys. "We really tried hard but they got off to a really good start." Expectations were very high after the previous game when The Mighty Dukes beat their other arch - rivals of PS 128. Team members had the feeling that the victory would propel them to their second Turn To Us Championship. "I really thought that beating 128 would help us in our game against 132", admits Coach Keys. But, Coach Luis G. of PS 128 had other plans. "We knew that if we didn't come to play, then we were going to have a problem on our hands."

Even though the Turn To Us season is over for The Mighty Dukes, the basketball season is not. "We are entering into phase two of the season", says Coach Keys. "We are in a new league and hopefully these boys can show me some more skills."

The Mighty Dukes Lose First Home Game

On Friday, October 22, The Mighty Dukes of P.S. 4 lost their first home game of the year with a score of 26-24 against P.S. 128. Despite the loss, Coach Keys remains optimistic about the team's future. "We will be ready the next time." P.S. 128's coach and Turn 2 Us Foundation Coordinator Tanipa Thomas felt that her team was fortunate to have won the game. "We played this game on another school's basketball court and Coach Keys probably could have beaten us if he had kept the defensive press on."

"I don't know why I called "Blue" off", Coach Keys said later referring to the defensive play that pressures the offense to thrown the ball in, "we had them." Another factor in the loss was the fact that P.S. 4 played a lot better in the first half than in the second half. They only scored 9 points in the second half of the game.

Even after such a heartbreaking loss, Coach Keys still looks toward the future. "We may have lost the game but we didn't have our best team on the floor. Some of our guys are new to the team and are just now starting to learn how to play basketball with each other." Fans of The Mighty Dukes are sure that Coach Keys will make sure his team is ready for the next game . GO DUKES!

It's Over!

The season did not end as the boys basketball team from P.S. 4 had hoped. The Mighty Dukes lost to P.S. 128 by a score of 23-11. "Their team was better than ours" said Coach Keys. "We played hard, but it just wasn't good enough." "Losing the championship game was tough, but it was a victory just to get to play the last game", said program director Dr. Montanez. "You had to beat five other teams just to get here. While the boys were very emotional, they realized that you can't win every game". Each player received a 2nd place trophy and proudly brought it back to the Duke Ellington School. Congratulations on making it to the finals, boys! We are all looking forward to next season.

The Mighty Dukes Get One!

On Friday, October 30, victory finally came to P.S. 4. The Mighty Dukes beat the boys basketball team from M.S. 325, with a score of 22 - 16. Once again, led by Coach Keys, the boys representing The Duke Ellington school played in front of their home crowd and were victorious! Coach Keys was delighted with bringing the school its first victory. "We really executed and did some of the things that we have been working hard on in practice", said Coach Keys. Rebounding, steals and defense were all areas that needed improvement and were improved in this game. Now that the Duke Boys have gotten their first victory they are looking forward to winning the next game. "We plan to continue winning" said Coach Keys.