We would like to take a moment to express our appreciation for Coach Tommy Swinton for his commitment to shaping the futures of our youth. Coach Tommy has been coaching youth basketball throughout the Metropolitan area for more than 48 years. Throughout his career, Coach Tommy received several community service awards, most notably from the Holcomb Rucker (a legendary NYC basketball tournament), City Wide, and Watson. In an effort to give back to the children of Harlem and provide them with the opportunity to train and play basketball, in the 70’s Coach Tommy created the TS Bucks, an organized community basketball team for the children in King Towers. Coach Tommy served in various coaching positions, including coaching for the Chick Allstars, Milbank, and LaGuardia. From 1987 through 2018, Coach Tommy coached for one of New York City’s most elite and reputable AAU programs, the NY Gauchos. Throughout his career, Coach Tommy coached several players who went on to play in the NBA and hundreds of players who went on to play Division I basketball. His tenacious coaching style and rigorous techniques prepared these young men both physically and mentally - 1) physically for the strenuous and grueling training conditions and 2) mentally to embrace the most intense D1 and professional coaching while navigating the challenges of competing at the next level. In essence, he prepared them to successfully compete at the highest level of basketball. Importantly, Coach Tommy always worked towards prioritizing the best interest of his athletes and made the most of his role as a mentor in their lives. Today, he continues to give back to his community coaching the KS All-Stars (Kyrie Irving and Rod Strickland’s AAU team). Please join us as we thank Coach Tommy for his years of dedication to our community and congratulate him for all of his success.