Production

STREETBALL: THE REAL WEST SIDE STORY


"IF YOU CAN GET OUT OF NEWARK, EVERYTHING ELSE SEEMS EASY."
-Andre Tippett

STREETBALL: THE REAL WEST SIDE STORY

The ultimate goal for this project was to create a template for other communities to be able to bring at risk use youth into sports programs; just as the coaches did in Streetball: The Real West Side Story with the students who became part of the 2007 championship Newark West Side Rough Riders football team. Along the way we tell the story of city Newark, the history of football in Newark featuring the legendary Barringer coach Frank Verducci and history of “Pop” Warner and how youth football came to be.

The “Real West Side Story” lends itself to repetition.  At risk youth permeate our urban society and need the approach and program that the coaches created. Consequently, the impact we hope for is for urban schools to follow the steps that were made at Newark West Side High School and change the culture from that is poverty stricken, criminal and desperate to one that is educational, spiritual and hopeful.