Our Program

GLADIATOR SPORTS provides a structured wholesome, educational and enjoyable recreational experience for the youth of Central Harlem and the surrounding boroughs of New York City.

Since Basketball is a T E A M (TOGETHER EACH ACHIEVES MORE) sports, emphasis is placed on learning to improve one's self for the good of the whole. Team sports have long been shown as an effective tool in promoting values such as motivation, courage, determination, commitment, integrity, and respect.

Certified teachers help instruct academic courses including Reading Comprehension, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Health, Drug Abuse and Current Events. The program will periodically present successful people to inspire and motivate our Gladiators.

Gladiator Sports provides basketball instruction in fundamentals such as shooting, dribbling, passing and basketball strategies. Skills are taught by dedicated coaches with several years of experience.

Wonderful, committed and experienced coaches instruct Gladiator Sports' players.

The Program is designed to provide informed and positive instruction in athletics, and to also promote important life skills including self discipline, teamwork and respect for others.

The program operates primarily on Saturdays from the hours of 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Young people are broken up into groups according to age and stage of development. Each participant learns to strive toward a personal best consistent with his or her own abilities.

Gladiator Sports participates in several basketball tournaments and cheerleader competitions against other teams in the community.

There are periodic field trips outside the community to visit various historical, cultural and recreational venues. Trips have included watching the New York Knicks and Liberty play at Madison Square Garden.

Gladiator Sports is an AAU affiliated program which competes against other programs located throughout the northeast region (including PA, RI, CT, NJ, MD and MA). Road trips allow our young people, many of whom have grown up in Harlem and have never ventured outside the New York Metro area, to meet their peers from other locations and backgrounds. This has clearly broadened their sense of the world and their place in it.

Harlem is a rich and vibrant community, famous for its history and culture. Yet there also negative images of drugs, gangs, etc. that can appear seductive to impressionable youth who have no clear sense of positive options. Gladiator Sports seeks to counter these images through exposure to attractive alternatives and positive role models.

Anthony Afflick & Jude Baptiste,

founders of Gladiator Sports Inc, have many years of coaching experience combined with several years of youth program coordination. They are directly responsible for overall supervision and administration of Gladiator Sports Inc.