SPORTS AND FAMILY

It’s amazing the things we remember.

I was 12 years old, playing first base for the CJ Murphy team in the Bayonne Little League championship game.

Tommy Wise, who was a great basketball and baseball player (later played briefly for the Montreal Expos), was on the mound for us. It was the bottom of the 1st, and after a walk and a strikeout, the next batter, a right-handed hitter, swung late on one of Tommy’s fastballs and hit a line drive down the first base line.

In one of the easiest plays someone could ever be handed, I caught the ball moving toward the bag, stepped on first and completed an unassisted double play.

The first thing I did? Looked into the stands to see my dad, making sure he had seen it…and it was a moment we could share.

Dad used to come to my games…whatever the sport or level. We would go to games together, watch games on television together, talk on the phone about games together.

I loved it…and later loved it, albeit differently, as I watched my daughters compete in their rec, high school and — for one — college sports. I never wanted to miss a game (even if I didn’t completely understand those fencing matches, or field hockey games…and softball was a bit tedious). But soccer and basketball were great to watch, and I penciled in those dates on my calendar as soon as the schedules came out.

So given the opportunity to team up with Interperformances, a leader in the basketball world, it was too good to pass up. And now, as the exclusive US representative of Interperformances, we’re fortunate that so many great people are lending their talents and knowledge to the new company, InterperformancesUSA (or IPZ for short).

And for some insight into the reason we did this, check out “The Barn,” a special place for our family.

Interperformances has been a powerhouse in the basketball world; our goal is to build on that prowess, and build a bigger and stronger entity in the United States. We’re off to a fast start…and hope you will all wish us luck as IPZ grows, based on integrity, family, and life.