New volleyball equipment meets with youth approval at YMCA ‘Saturday Night Lights’ program

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. —The Department of Youth and Community Development’s (DYCD) “Saturday Night Lights” program unveiled its new volleyball equipment Saturday evening at the Staten Island Broadway YMCA.

The program, which showcases both basketball and volleyball, is run through the DYCD and hosted at the YMCA.

Emmanuel Gbogboade, teen coordinator of the YMCA, explained to the Advance/SILive, that “Saturday Night Lights” has taken place for a while, but the idea of volleyball happened when Police Officer Jason Boreman came to him.

“He asked if we had volleyball, and I said we don’t and that we would need kids and equipment for it, and he said don’t worry about all that,” said Gbogboade. “Then, one day he came back and had a makeshift volleyball net made out of supplies from Home Depot, with two hoses and cement inside a bucket. At least 45 kids showed up, and since then, the kids have been using that for a while, and it gave them another outlet.”

Gbogboade explained that 45 kids has expanded to 100.

The Saturday Night Lights Program has also seen growth in its many other locations, administrators say.

“We are deeply proud of Saturday Night Lights, a signature DYCD program – and it’s quite successful, with 4,100 kids participating on average across more than 130 locations,’’ said Emily Fiallos Campos, strategic partnerships coordinator for DYCD.

The DYCD worked with community partners to secure the equipment, which replaces the makeshift bucket setup.

Boreman said the idea to bring volleyball was a result of “a huge volleyball outcry, where the kids want to play, but they can’t afford it.”

“Some of the teams that are club teams are too expensive at 12 to 15 thousand a year and people cant afford it,’’ said Boreman. “That’s also not including the fact that you have to pay to try out, and you might not make…