About Mr. Deberry "Coach Gotti"

Hello, All!

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. I have four brothers and no sisters. My mom and dad worked extra hard to keep my brothers and I off of the streets and in school. I can remember my mom walking my brothers and I to school everyday. After a hard day's work she would find time to assist us with our homework.

My dad worked numerous odd jobs, so it was extremely rough on him as a non-educated black man, to maintain a steady income. Through all of his hard times he always managed to provide us with a great summer. Summertime was the best time for us. My dad would take all the children and sometimes adults to the park and play softball. He organized a team and when we didn't have a scheduled game, we would walk to different parks to look for a game. After every game or practice, my dad would have a meeting with all the players. Sometimes the meetings would last ten minutes, sometimes they would last for hours. This was his way off getting through to us.

My teenage years were full of bad decisions and I began to hang around the wrong crowd, despite my dad's advice. He would always say, "Boy if you hang out with troublemakers, you're bound to be a troublemaker. But, if you hang out with people that are about something and have goals in life, then you will turn out to be about something with your own goals to reach. It's your choice". Unfortunately, my choice was to hang out with the bad crowd.

My life changed when my mom gave me an ultamatum at the age of sixteen. She said, "You either abide by my rules and go to school, or leave my house". I decided to enroll in Job Corp. I needed to get away from the people that were influencing me to make bad choices and give myself the chance to get educated.

After spending eighteen months in Job Corp, I left with a drivers license, completing a union painting program, and G.E.D. I made the decision to move to Buffalo, NY to work as a painter. I became homesick after a year and returned to Brooklyn. I began to freelance as a painter and saved up my earnings and opened my own company. Things didn't work out as planned. My company only lasted nine months because business got slow and bills couldn't get paid. I had to make the choice to find a job, so I started working for R.S Painting Company as an experienced painter. After completing several jobs I became the foreman for the company.

I then went back to playing softball. I played with the Brooklyn Independent Softball Association(B.I.S.A), a softball league for adults. One summer, a teammate asked me to assist him in a practice for his basketball team. I accepted his offer without any hesitation. When I arrived at the gym, I was shocked to see a bunch of nine and ten year olds running a lay-up line drill. I decided to volunteer at St. Johns Recreation Center as a coach. Soon, I was offered a job with the New York City Parks Department after conducting the first Turn 2 Baseball Cilnic in Brooklyn.

For the first summer as Parks Department employee, I was assigned to a particular park as a Playground Assistant. The following winter I became the coach of the Flag Football team. When football season was over I became the Sports Coordinator for St. Johns Recreation center. I also filled the position as Teen Coordinator. A Few years later, I was transferred to Herbert Von King Cultural Arts Center to assist them with their sports program. Two years later I became the Afterschool Coordinator.

The Afterschool Coordinator position helped me to open my eyes and realize that I can help children become responsible adults not only through recreation, but with education as well. I have taken steps to properly prepare my self for the challange of becoming an educator. With the help of the Afterschool For Excellence, I am now in the process of completing my second semester at York College.