By Peter Elacqua
COLTS NECK – The Colts Neck PTO is inviting sports fans to watch teachers from the Colts Neck K-8 School District take on the Harlem Wizards in a basketball game that will be played at 7 p.m. Jan. 26 at Colts Neck High School, Route 537 and Five Points Road.
The Harlem Wizards are a professional basketball team that performs at schools with an array of trick shots and fan interaction.
The teachers from the Colts Neck K-8 School District have dubbed themselves Team Kobe Wan Kenobi. The roster includes Cedar Drive Middle School Principal Colin Rigby and Assistant Principal Merri Milano; Conover Road Elementary School Principal Jim Osmond; Conover Road Primary School Principal Tricia Barr; and staff members Sara Campbell, Hope Delia, Lauren Hums, Melissa Jones, Debra Tarby, Ryan White, B. Jay Willis and Thomas Wonaszek.
Tickets are available at www.coltsneckpto.org or at www.harlemwizards.com for $20. Tickets at the door will be $25. Event organizer and Colts Neck PTO member Patricia Pecoraro said courtside seats are sold out. The high school gym will hold about 760 people.
The Harlem Wizards have visited Colts Neck in the past. Two years ago the Colts Neck High School seniors invited the team to Project Graduation.
David “D.P.” Paul of the Wizards conducted assemblies at Colts Neck’s schools on Jan. 6. He performed tricks and got students, teachers and principals involved in the fun.
“I think the assembly was what really hit home because ticket sales boomed that night,” Pecoraro said.
The PTO is selling T-shirts and the Wizards will sell merchandise at the event. Pecoraro said if a student buys a Wizards jersey, that student will spend 30 minutes with the Wizards during their warm-up session.
“The students are very excited to see their teachers play. The kids are excited to play with the players,” Pecoraro said. “The organization is easy to work with and I believe the event will go on without a hitch. I think the kids will remember this for a long time. I am excited about the event because the kids get something out of it. A lot of the fundraising is for the parents and the teachers and I think this is a great way for the children to get involved.”
For more information, contact Colleen Procyk at 917-589-7722 or by email at [email protected]