Community-Driven Accessibility: How Parkway Hoops is Growing the Game of Basketball in Brooklyn

When Peter Panousopoulos started Parkway Hoops, a community-driven basketball organization located in Brooklyn, NY, there was no certainty in what the future of his program would hold. Beginning with one youth athlete who had never played organized basketball before, Parkway Hoops now boasts more than 500+ active youth athletes and has become a true staple of the community. How?

A fierce dedication to the game he loves (basketball), true buy-in from the community and everyone involved (coaches, parents, athletes), and the right technology partner to enable this growth.

“It’s developed into this basketball program that grows with the kids who are part of the program,” said Panousopoulos. “It will be our fourth high school graduating class where anybody that has played at the program graduated high school and went off to college… and that’s something I’m really proud of.”

A common theme in Parkway Hoops’ organization drives down to one word: accessibility. Panousopoulos and his staff of former players turned coaches live by that attitude. It’s a program where Panousopoulos will stand up new practice times, teams, and leagues as soon as interest is received. Why? Because he wants to share the game he loves with every member of his Brooklyn community.

But, that’s way easier said than done. Panousopoulos credits this success to the ease of TeamSnap for Business. “The program is built on great communication and through TeamSnap, just being able to communicate to all parts of the organization timely, efficiently, it’s taken our program a huge step forward since we began using TeamSnap.”

When you stroll the streets of this Brooklyn neighborhood in the early afternoon, you’ll begin to notice something. Parkway Hoops, playing out of the local neighborhood park, is consistently and always there. Every day after school, Panousopoulos and his staff hold various practices, events, and skill programs daily: to keep the game of basketball accessible to all.

But, Parkway Hoops is so much more than that. It’s blossomed into multiple leagues, playing season-long schedules, crowning champions, and making a whole lot of positive memories along the way.

When picking the right technology partner, Panousopoulos knew an accessible registration feature would be key. “The registration process on TeamSnap is very quick, easy, and convenient. It has this positive effect on the coaching, and positive effect on the games and the practices because everyone is walking into the same place already on the same page.”

He highlighted how families and athletes usually want to walk straight onto the court and start playing. Who doesn’t? And with the ease of TeamSnap Registration, that’s possible.

“I feel extremely lucky to be in the position that I’m in. To be able to pull these things off, playing through the elements, playing through a pandemic, starting a league from a group of kids who just love basketball. TeamSnap has made life a lot easier every day, so thanks.”