Author: 151872pwpadmin

  • Basketball Information Sessions

    Basketball Information Sessions

    Interested in learning more about youth basketball in SOMA?

    The SOMA Basketball Boosters, in partnership with South Orange Recreation, Maplewood Recreation, the South Mountain YMCA, Columbia High School Athletics, and Ask Me About Girls Basketball, will be conducting three Information Sessions for parents of children interested in basketball in our towns.  

    The sessions will take place:

    Tuesday September 9th @ 8pm (Virtually)

    Thursday September 11th @ 8pm (Virtually)

    Saturday September 13th @ 10am (In-Person in SOMA TBD) 

    Questions in advance? Reach out to us at somabasketballboosters@gmail.com

    To be included, please register for information sessions here:

    Register for Information Sessions
  • SOMA Basketball Boosters Partners with Clinton Elementary for Equipment Donation

    SOMA Basketball Boosters Partners with Clinton Elementary for Equipment Donation

    SOMA Basketball Boosters—our nonprofit arm dedicated to building a better community through basketball—is proud to announce its first-ever equipment donation to a public elementary school. On Wednesday, May 21st, the Boosters delivered brand new basketball equipment to the Clinton Elementary School PE program in Maplewood. 

    Thanks to the leadership of Taylor Valentine, founder of SOMA Hoops and a board member of SOMA Basketball Boosters, and Clinton Elementary’s Arie Sladowsky, we learned of the school’s need for new basketballs, cones, and rebounders. And thanks to the generous donations of families, and sponsorships from local businesses, over the past nine months, we were able to make it happen.

    A crew of SOMA Basketball reps were on site to show their support, including board members Michael Dorfman, Delia O’Donnell and Erica Dagley Galea (and founder of AskMeAboutGirlsBasketball.com), CHS Varsity Girls Basketball Coach (and Clinton School alum!) Aaron Breitman, and Clinton student parents Elissa Kozlov and Harvey Wolski . The students’ excitement was palpable as they received their new equipment—they started shooting hoops right away!

    We hope this is just the beginning of SOMA Basketball Booster’s collaboration with the South Orange Maplewood School District as we continue on our mission to support local student-athletes of all ages and increase access to basketball for all members of our community.

  • SOMA Basketball Serves Scoops For Hoops at Maplewood Mayfest

    SOMA Basketball Serves Scoops For Hoops at Maplewood Mayfest

    On Sunday, May 19, SOMA Basketball posted up at Maplewood’s Mayfest for our first-ever Scoops for Hoops.

    Reps from a wide range of our local basketball programs—including SOMA Hoops, MAPSO Basketball, South Orange Rec, the YMCA, MAPSO Legends, and Columbia High School Basketball—gathered under the SOMA Basketball tents  on Springfield Avenue to talk hoops with with veteran ballers and interested new families alike, helping them learn more about opportunities to play in South Orange and Maplewood.

    The added bonus? Free Nona’s Homemade Ice Cream to drive the message home.If you missed us at Mayfest, SOMABasketball.org is your one-stop resource for all things basketball in our two towns (sorry, no ice cream available online). Special shout out to our volunteers, as well as our friends at Nona’s, the General Store, and Union Square Pretzels for being so generous with their resources, time and space. Nothing beats bringing basketball to the community we love!

  • SOMA Hoopsters Recognized as “Athletes of the Month” in SOMA Living Magazine

    SOMA Hoopsters Recognized as “Athletes of the Month” in SOMA Living Magazine

    Did you recognize some familiar faces in this month’s issue of SOMA Living magazine (page 16, to be exact)? We’re thrilled to share that our very own SOMA Hoopsters were named April’s collective “Athletes of the Month” by the local monthly. Per the accompanying column, “SOMA Hoops exemplifies the power of sports in nurturing youth and building community spirit.” SOMA Living, you’re making us blush! Zoom in or click through on the article above, or check out your copy today.

  • SOMA Swish Gathers all SOMSD Elementary Schools for a Slam Dunk Fundraiser

    SOMA Swish Gathers all SOMSD Elementary Schools for a Slam Dunk Fundraiser

    On Sunday, April 6, faculty and staff from our 6 elementary schools—Delia Bolden, Clinton, Marshall, Seth Boyden, South Mountain, and Tuscan—faced off in an epic, all-day basketball tournament at Columbia High School to raise funds to support the elementary school PTAs. The sold-out event (don’t worry, we’re already looking into larger venues for next year!) was made possible by an army of volunteers from each school; a huge shoutout to everyone who made SOMA Swish such a success! Seeing such an enthusiastic turnout (over 2,200 tickets sold!), such wild school spirit, and such killer dance moves from every school mascot made SOMA Swish a huge win for us all. Next year’s rematch can’t come soon enough.

  • Pilot Peer-to-Peer Program Tackles the Middle School Transition

    Pilot Peer-to-Peer Program Tackles the Middle School Transition

    On Thursday, February 20, 25 of our SOMA Hoops 5th grade girls gathered after a clinic for an hourlong pilot peer-to-peer program at the Baird: “What’s Middle School All About?” Led by facilitators Kate Pfeifer and Delia O’Donnell and four young leaders currently in 6th and 7th grade—Leah Klein, Tina Ohemeng, Sylvie Charles, and Charlotte Naylor—the group opened up to ask and answer questions covering the academic, social, and emotional transition to middle school while munching on french fries from The Players Academy. Thanks to all who participated!