I didn’t start Central Park Sports - you did! 

I moved to NYC in the fall of 2000, temporarily, to take a break from managing ice rinks and have some fun coaching skating and hockey in Central Park. I loved it and so, apparently, did my students! So much so that I continued spending my winters on the ice at Wollman Rink and used my first few springs and summers to travel the country with my dog in “LYBie" - my Little Yellow Bus. 

But the kids kept asking for more. Eventually I agreed to stay through spring to teach rollerblading. And then through the first few weeks of summer to play sports in the park with a couple kids. Then their friends joined. Then their friends wanted to join. Before I knew it, I had dozens of sportsters who wanted in on the fun and had to quickly recruit my own “staff” of friends to help coach them. 

How it’s going…

Central Park Sports as we know it was born in 2007. I drew on my experience coaching at my dad’s baseball camp through high school, the Stanford Summer All Sports Camp model from college, and my lifelong love of sports to create the program my skating students, and their friends, were asking for. We now hire local college and professional athletes, who are severely overqualified but love their sports, to share that love with our sportsters. We focus on teaching skills in a fun way so kids will love sports too. The sports will teach the rest.

We have never forgotten that you, NYC parents and kids, really started our program and we continue to listen to your needs. What started as one of the original “June camps” has grown to include the whole Summer Break, Spring-Break and other school holidays. We open right after Memorial Day for those who are out of school early and stay open through the entire Labor Day week for those who start school late. We were one of the first programs to re-open in 2020, where we spread ourselves into small groups all around the Park and focused on tennis and golf until other sports were permitted. We are here for you and you have rewarded us with your trust and loyalty. Thank you!

-Coach Cory