CityBall: a documentary
CityBall: a documentary
KANSAS CITY, Missouri— "The first time I saw someone get shot, I was 10 years old," says Delfino Jacquez. It's a stunning statement from the senior point guard at Kansas City's Northeast High School. It's even more striking that the story is not all that uncommon among students in the Kansas City Missouri School District. Neighborhood violence, urban flight, and community indifference are among the many obstacles student athletes must struggle to overcome. Metro Sports and Time Warner Cable present "CityBall," a powerful documentary exposing the challenges these inner city student athletes face.
About the project
CityBall is a feature-length documentary showcasing a year in the life of student athletes in the Kansas City Missouri School District. Once the toast of Kansas City athletics, the Interscholastic League is now riddled with problems including budget cuts, below average facilities, coaching turn-over, and staffing shortages. The students themselves have to overcome daunting odds just to graduate from high school. Many live in very low-income surroundings, having to work multiple jobs to contribute to the household’s well-being. Some are learning from the examples of older siblings that gang and drug-related activities can be destructive, and even deadly. This project explores the positive role of athletics in the precarious lives of these impressionable students. It also delves into the roles played by parents, coaches, and school administrators in the many decisions that influence the futures of young athletes in Kansas City.
About the CityBall Scholarship Fund and Application
The mission of the CityBall Scholarship Fund is simple – send as many KC area kids to summer activities camps as possible. If you, your son or daughter, or any youth you know, (Kindergarden through 12th grade) is looking forward to attending an athletic or any other type of activities camp this summer, a CityBall Scholarship will pay for that opportunity!
From football camp to band camp, we have an opportunity to help give at-risk Kansas City youths a chance to be influenced from these positive experiences. It's our hope that lessons learned while attending one of these camps can lead the scholarship award winners on a better path - for themselves and our community.
With every purchase of a CityBall DVD, Metro Sports and Time Warner Cable will proudly donate 100% of its profits to the CityBall Scholarship Fund.
About the producer
Stephen Spiegel is a sports producer, videographer, editor, and writer. He has produced award-winning programming for Metro Sports for ten years. He developed the idea for CityBall several years ago while covering a local team with barely enough football players to take the field. He began to question why the students continued to band together, and what caused their number of team members to shrink so drastically. To help answer these questions, Spiegel takes his camera into the locker rooms, onto the fields and courts, and into the homes of several Kansas City student athletes.
About Metro Sports
Metro Sports, part of the Kansas City division of Time Warner Cable, is Kansas City's 24-hour all-sports television network. It's shown on Time Warner Cable Channel 30, and on Comcast and Sunflower cable systems in the greater Kansas City area. Metro Sports features live and taped telecasts of sporting events, studio shows, original documentary-style programs, blocks of ESPNEWS, and other sports programming.
Purchase a DVD
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Available On Demand
CityBall is available now on
Metro Sports On Demand (TWC channel 130)
CityBall Scholarship Fund
CityBall: The Town Hall is now available on Metro Sports On Demand (TWC channel 130)
Radio Interview
810WHB's "Crunchtime" with Dave Stewart and CityBall producer Stephen Spiegel
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