{"id":190026,"date":"2026-04-08T20:52:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T20:52:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/190026\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T20:52:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T20:52:42","slug":"brooklyn-basketball-training-center-hosts-all-girls-clinic-joined-by-liberty-hc-chris-demarco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/190026\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn Basketball Training Center hosts all-girls clinic, joined by Liberty HC Chris DeMarco"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since its opening<\/a> in September 2025, the Brooklyn Basketball Training Center has served as a hub for young athletes. Operated by Brooklyn Basketball<\/a> \u2014 a partnership between the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty \u2014 the facility aims to empower youth through after-school programs, clinics and community events.<\/p>\n

From April 6-10, the center hosted its Spring Recess clinic, where 27 girls ages 6-17 trained with top staff and learned from Liberty coaches.\n<\/p>\n

On April 8, participants were joined by New York Liberty Head Coach Chris DeMarco<\/a> and members of his coaching staff for a morning panel discussing their roles in the organization, the importance of creating opportunities for young girls in sports, and their connection to Brooklyn. Assistant coaches Courtney Paris and Addi Walters, along with player development coach Kristin Mann, also spoke with attendees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"BrooklynSince its opening in September, the Brooklyn Basketball Training Center has been dedicated to offering robust programming for young athletes.Photo by Erica Price<\/p>\n

During the panel, several young athletes eagerly raised their hands, asking questions about being confident on the court, coaches\u2019 favorite players and what it takes to make a team. DeMarco was asked what advice he would give to young girls hoping to excel in the sport, to which he spoke about team camaraderie and how the skills transfer to all aspects of life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since his hiring<\/a> in December, DeMarco said he has quickly embraced both the team and its home borough.<\/p>\n

\u201cI absolutely love it,\u201d he told Brooklyn Paper. \u201cThere\u2019s something really special about New York City \u2014 and Brooklyn in general. Just the energy of the city, heading into work in the morning, seeing people out after work \u2014 it feels like there\u2019s an energy that\u2019s one of a kind.\u201d<\/p>\n

That energy, DeMarco said, extends directly into the basketball community.\u00a0
\n\"BrooklynDeMarco and members of his coaching staff crossed the street from Barclays Center to speak to the young athletes.Photo by Erica Price\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just a really cool thing \u2014 what Brooklyn Basketball is doing for the community,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019ve never seen before. To have this kind of curriculum, right across the street from where we play, whether you\u2019re just starting out or trying to take the next step \u2014 it\u2019s all here.\u201d<\/p>\n

While his schedule will become more demanding during the season, which opens<\/a> May 8, DeMarco emphasized that staying connected to programs like the clinic remains a priority.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason I fell in love with basketball is because of something similar to this,\u201d he said. \u201cSomebody impacted me when I was a kid. So being around these kids \u2014 it\u2019s one of my favorite things to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BrooklynDeMarco said that opportunities like these reflect the growth of women\u2019s sports.Photo by Erica Price<\/p>\n

The all-girls clinic, in particular, reflects the growing momentum behind women\u2019s basketball and the importance of creating dedicated spaces for young athletes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think the growth of the game \u2014 and the growth of the WNBA \u2014 is giving kids goals they can reach,\u201d DeMarco said. \u201cIf they want to play professionally, that path is there. And even if not, this is such a great environment for camaraderie, competition and building friendships.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BrooklynThe Spring Clinic runs from April 6-10 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. while kids are on their Spring Break.Photo by Erica Price<\/p>\n

As he prepares for his first season leading the Liberty, DeMarco said he\u2019s most looking forward to experiencing Brooklyn\u2019s passion for sports up close.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll walk by people, and they\u2019re debating games, talking about teams \u2014 I love that,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m excited to experience the arena, the fans, all of it. You can feel it building.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BrooklynDeMarco joined the girls\u2019 drills, giving pointers and encouragement.Photo by Erica Price \"BrooklynPhoto by Erica Price<\/p>\n

For more information on Brooklyn Basketball programming, visit brooklyn-basketball.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Since its opening in September 2025, the Brooklyn Basketball Training Center has served as a hub for young…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109901,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[76161,98,76162,10454,100,76163,99,27111,76164,53773,24426,9,24,8915,12,370,63,76165,11452,17453,12164],"class_list":{"0":"post-190026","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn","8":"tag-basketball-clinics","9":"tag-brooklyn","10":"tag-brooklyn-basketball","11":"tag-brooklyn-events","12":"tag-brooklyn-headlines","13":"tag-brooklyn-nets-partnership","14":"tag-brooklyn-news","15":"tag-chris-demarco","16":"tag-community-programs","17":"tag-girls-basketball","18":"tag-kids-education","19":"tag-new-york","20":"tag-new-york-city","21":"tag-new-york-liberty","22":"tag-news","23":"tag-newsletter","24":"tag-nyc","25":"tag-nyc-sports","26":"tag-wnba","27":"tag-women-in-sports","28":"tag-youth-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}