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As the first official year as Level Up LI came to a close, we are very proud of our accomplishments and more importantly the growth of our players and teams. Of our 10 teams in the Spring season, (all coached by former college basketball players) 9 teams qualified for the Island Garden Super League Playoffs. Of those 10 teams, 3 won League Championships. Congrats to the players, coaches and parents on 3rd Grade Boys – White, 6th Grade Boys – Blue and 6th Grade Girls – White. The total differential in points for the 3 Championship Games were a combined 6 points! We look forward to carrying this momentum into the upcoming season.

Championship Video

Championship Video 2

Coach Andrew Delaney played high school basketball in his hometown of South Jersey, where he graduated from St. Augustine Prep as a 1,044 point scorer. He also played at Blair Academy for 1 year. He played 5 years of college basketball at D2 Adelphi University in the NE10 Conference & had career highs of 21 points at Le Moyne College & 15 Rebounds at Staten Island College. Now that his college playing career is over, he has joined the staff as an assistant coach for Adelphi Men’s Basketball & is an advanced basketball skills trainer for Delaney Skills.

Coach Grant Callahan began his basketball career at Wheatley High School where he was a 2-year Varsity starter who earned All-Conference and Conference Scholar Athlete honors during his senior season. He also led the Wheatley Track & Field team becoming both Conference and County Champion in the Discus Throw and earning the team MVP “Wildcat” award. He finished his senior year by being recognized as the Wheatley Male Scholar Athlete of the Year. Grant continued his athletic career at New York University (NYU) competing in the weight throw during the Winter season and in the hammer throw & discus during the Spring season.

Grant brings energy, knowledge, and a passion for player development. As a proud Level Up alumni, Grant played 3 years with the program and helped his 16U team earn 5th place at the D2 AAU National Championships in Florida. During his time with Level Up, Grant played under Coaches Jesse Winter, and Carson Niehoff, and was coached in high school by Nassau County Hall of Fame Coach Rich Slater. He has practiced under and trained with high-level coaches, deepening his basketball knowledge and developing his skills.

Grant’s achievements at both the collegiate and high school level have contributed to his coaching style that encourages clear communication, peak effort and strong fundamentals. He is excited to give back to the Level Up community and build skills with the next generation of players that will benefit them both on and off the court.

Coach Brian Hutchinson started his basketball career at Elmont Memorial High School. He played Varsity all 4 years and received All-County and All-Long Island awards and won a conference championship in his Junior year. After high school he went on to play Division 2 basketball at Molloy College where he started as a freshman and played all 4 years. While at Molloy he earned All-Metropolitan, Preseason Player of the year, All-Conference and scored over 1,000 points in his career.

Coach Chuck Santarelli began his basketball career at St. Dominics High School where he played 2 years under Tom Tarantino who was responsible for multiple state championships. He was a defensive stopper guarded some top talent such as Brandon Knight and Felipe Lopez. Chuck coached travel basketball for Wheatley for 8 years winning multiple championships and helping develop and mentor multiple college players. He also coached little league for 10 years, served on the board of East Williston Little League and was named the Man of the year.