Dyckman Youth Enterprises Inc.
Is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to uplifting the Washington Heights community – home to the largest Dominican population outside of the Dominican Republic – through education, athletic and cultural activities, Dyckman Youth Enterprises Inc. serves more than 600 young adults and 300 urban professionals
Year-round in the New York Metropolitan area.

In striving to keep our motto “Upwards and Onwards Through Athletics,” Dyckman Youth Enterprises Inc. is an organization that motivates adolescents from all walks of life using athletics as a catalyst to help address the needs of its constituents in areas of youth leadership, academic readiness, recreation and employment. The goal of the organization is to give inner-city youth a hope for a better tomorrow by teaching them to utilize what they learn from their athletic experiences as a model to help their overall academic, social, and career development. To date, our most successful event is the Dyckman Basketball Tournament – one of the most highly attended summer-long street basketball leagues in New York City – employing over 25 community minded-youth, facilitating scholastic opportunities, while offering recreational activities and enjoyable entertainment for participants/attendees of all ages.


Dyckman Basketball Tournament.
Held at Monsignor Kett Playground in Upper Manhattan at 204th Street and Nagle Avenue (off Broadway), The Dyckman Basketball Tournament was started in the summer of 1990 and has since expanded from a word of mouth league with six teams to a tournament that now host 56 teams in 5 different age groups. Over the past three years, the tournament has become one of the most highly anticipated and notable summer basketball events within the New York tri-state area. We are proud to acknowledge that since the inception of the tournament, murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, and grand larceny in the 15th congressional district have all dropped an average of 67% (NYPD COMPUSTAT UNIT). The tournament has been featured in the media on numerous occasions including ESPN’s The Life, Amsterdam News, BRONXNET cable channel 67, and FOX 5’s Morning Show.
Going into its 15th year, the tournament, held seven (7) days a week, reaches up to 1,500 spectators daily during the summer, beginning in early June and ending in mid-August. The purpose of the tournament is two-fold: (1) to offer a platform for teams and participants to showcase their talents in an intensely competitive atmosphere where players can be recognized and possibly recruited; (2) and offer the community and its residents a positive, fun, and exciting recreational / entertainment activity for the entire family to look forward to, annually, each summer.
History
Three childhood friends started the Dyckman Basketball Tournament in the summer of 1990. The tournament hosted only six teams then; we knew referees and ballplayers and have one of the best outside basketball courts in the city, so getting the tournament off the Ground would not be a problem. As years went on, two of the former commissioners Mr. Omar Booth and Mr. Michael Jenkins, who are now consultants, said they could not continue to help organize the league anymore. I felt and knew in my heart that I had to continue organizing the league because it was keeping the community together. Years went on and along with another life long friend Anthony Morton, we organized the league. Mr. Morton also had to back away because of the commitment to his employment and to his family. I continued on my own for about three years, until I met Mr. Ralph Pena. Ralph and I met in the fall of 1994 working in the commodity stock exchange where we both expressed the love for money, basketball and the interest in giving back to our community. I asked him would he have any interest in coaching in my summer league and soon after we became good friends and business partners. Ralph’s administrative insight and operational decisions was exactly what my organization needed. Our organization went from a local community tournament to one of the highly anticipated events in the tri-state area. We are proud to announce Mr. Isaiah Brown into the organization. Mr. Brown is the company Program Supervisor; he has shown dedication and leadership along with proficiency in business administration. In addition we have incorporated our mentoring program with our longtime colleague Mr. Otis Lang. Mr. Lang offers wisdom and guidance, he teaches life skills to our youth and adolescence help ensure they continue to become positive and productive citizens. Our event went from a word of mouth tournament to a tournament that is NCAA sanctioned and host 48 teams. We are one the highly profiled summer leagues in the Country. Our vision and our goals are to give inner city youth a hope for a better tomorrow through academics and athletics.