Name:
Lonny Levine
Company:
Fastbreak Kids (Ages 2-5) / Fastbreak Sports (Grades K – 8th)
Contact info:
Email: teamfastbreak@fastbreakkids.com , ph: 212-724-3278 , website: www.fastbreakkids.com
How many years have you been in business in NYC?
9 years total, though we’ve been in our home location on the Upper East Side 3 years now and are opening an Upper West Side facility this winter.
How did you get your start and what was your initial inspiration?
When my son was eight or nine, I had a very definite vision of the type of basketball programming I wanted him enrolled in and I couldn’t find one that focused mainly on fundamentals. I started Fastbreak to give my son, and other young athletes like him, the chance to receive quality skill instruction from enthusiastic and professional coaches. We’ve since expanded to include classes in flag football and lacrosse, as well as multi-sport programming for toddlers and preschoolers.
What do you feel differentiates you from others in your field?
A top-notch coaching staff, a state-of-the-art facility, and an emphasis on skill development that applies to even our youngest athletes. While many sports classes for toddlers and preschoolers are movement based, rather than skill based, our FB Kids’ multi-sport coaches find creative ways to teach the basic skills of sports to even our youngest athletes, giving them a strong foundation on which they can build. We’ve recently seen kids from our very first 2s classes back in 2014 transition into our grade school basketball, flag football, and lacrosse programs and have been so proud to see how this early sports instruction has equipped them to thrive in classes with children who might be as many as two grade levels above them.
What do you feel gives you longevity in this big city with so many options?
Our coaches and staff. With coaches who are professional, energetic, and highly invested in seeing players improve, our classes at all levels manage to be both challenging and fun.
How do you positively impact your clientele?
Sports instruction instills values that are as useful off the court as on. In our classes and on our teams, we strive to instill the importance of hard work, working together as a team, gracious winning AND losing, celebrating successes and learning from mistakes. Our coaches realize that as role models, they are helping to build character, not just athletes.
What is your favorite part of your job?
The people. I’m surrounded by great coaches, kids, and their families. What’s not to love?
What is your favorite secret NYC spot?
The rooftop lawn at Lincoln center. It’s a beautiful, relaxing space.
How do you benefit mamas?
We try to offer lots of options and flexibility. For our toddlers and preschool athletes, we offer classes during the year (both separation and mommy-and-me), camps over holiday and summer break, and free play every week day. Moms also have the opportunity to set up their own private groups. Whatever they need, we try to accommodate.
What is the most memorable feedback a client has given you?
We love hearing from parents, but at the end of the day, it’s the comments from our kids that really stick. There’s nothing that fills me with more pride than hearing a child say that Fastbreak is his or her favorite place to be.
Pay it forward and name your top colleagues in the same field or related field:
Dave Brown of Basketball Stars of NY is someone I frequently collaborate with and whose teams we point our players to once they age out of our programming. I also have a lot of respect for Jeffrey Bernstein of Simply Sports and Teddy Frischling at Dribbl. Both run solid businesses.
What is the best advice anyone's ever given you? Or what is your "mantra" / words to live by?
Problems will happen in business and in life. It’s not the problem, but how you deal with it that defines who you are.
As moms, the day can escape us, what is your best time-saving trick?
PLAN AHEAD. Period.