This is the fourth and final in our series of interviews with winners of the Ardsley PTA Jenkins Award for service to the community. Don't forget to attend the awards ceremony tomorrow night, April 1, at 7pm in the High School Cafeteria.
Glenn Leibel has been at the center of some of Ardsley's most important sports organizations for more than 10 years. As a coach, Treasurer and then President, he's been deeply involved in the Ardsley Little League for all of that time. More recently, he's the founder and President of the Robert Jacobsen Sports League, which has been bringing Basketball to our community's children for the last 5 years and is now adding flag football to it's roster of sports. We caught up to Glenn by email for this interview:
How do you feel about receiving the Jenkins Award?
I congratulate all of the winners of the Jenkins Award and I am honored to be among those receiving this award. I never expected to be named a recipient of the Jenkins Award, and I am truly shocked that I was even be considered for this award.
I share this award with my friends and neighbors that have always given me their support and have volunteered their time and effort.
What has driven you to be so involved with kids in Ardsley all these years?
I truly enjoy volunteering my time for the children of Ardsley. Growing up I always had a fun, safe and welcoming place to play sports or hang out with my friends. Ardsley is a great place to live and to raise children. The people of Ardsley are committed to providing this type of environment to our community and I want to be a part of this. The Ardsley Little League provided me the opportunity to meet these people and become involved with my community.
You've been involved with the Ardsley Little League for more than ten years, including 2 years as its President. Why do you think the Little League is an important activity for the children of Ardsley?
The Ardsley Little League is a wonderful organization. The Little League is not just about teaching or playing baseball or softball. The Ardsley Little League provides a true sense of community for all age groups. We start our programs when children are 5 years old and we are with them until they reach the age of 16. We are able to help build friendships between children and adults who might not otherwise have a reason to interact with each other.
The bleachers are a great way to meet neighbors you might only see in the grocery store. Our volunteers dedicate their time and effort to teach our children sportsmanship, team work as well as the basics of the game. We have volunteers that run our opening day, cook for our picnic, organize our challenger leagues, operate our snack bar, orchestrate fundraisers and all star games. Our board is dedicated to
providing our youth the best little league program in Westchester County. I am very proud to have served as President of the Little League.
Tell us more about the Robert Jacobson Basketball League? Why did you start it up?
I am the President of the Robert Jacobson Basketball League. I developed the Robert Jacobson Sports leagues in memory of my brother in-law, Robert Jacobson, who graduated from Ardsley HS in 1980.
For the last 5 years I have volunteered my time to develop a basketball league that is open to all members of the Rivertowns community. The Robert Jacobson league teaches 1st - 4th graders the fundamentals of basketball. The children are coached by professional coaches and parents are able to watch their children progress through the season. Many friendships are made while parents sit on the sidelines and cheer for the players.
We also have a strong girls basketball program for 5th-8th graders. Girls come from different towns and have different playing skills. We have players who play on CYO teams, temple teams, modified teams as well as beginners. All the girls love to get together and play against each other. Our volunteer coaches teach the fundamentals of the sport but are encouraged to teach team work and sportsmanship above winning.
Our older boys are part of The Westchester Jewish Basketball League. We have three teams that participate from the many different temples in the area. Our volunteer coaches again stress sportsmanship and teamwork above winning at all costs. We welcome all players to participate in our basketball program.
This year the Robert Jacobson Sports Organization will be expanding and offering flag football to players in grades 1 - 6. Our teams will be playing in the Westchester Flag Football League and we hope to become a feeder system for the Ardsley High School and Ardsley Middle School modified teams. Parents can email me at RobertJacobsonSports@yahoo.com for more information.
Glen and I went to high school together and we remained in touch through our mid-twenties. We haven't seen or spoken to each other in close to 20 years however it doesn't surprise me at all that he is being honored for his work with children. He was always involved with coaching and helping kids. Congratulations, Glen!
Paul Rubin
Please pass this along to him so that we can get back in touch.
Posted by: Paul Rubin | April 17, 2008 at 06:38 PM