Staff
Who We Are
Marian Moorer
Marian/Moe better known as “The Comish” grew up in the Dyckman Houses in Washington Heights. She attended John F. Kennedy High School where she earned All-City honors. She was also on the inaugural women’s team at the Riverside Church. Marian played on many prestigious, award-winning basketball teams throughout her high school career before embarking on her collegiate career at St. Peters College and finishing at the University of Delaware.
After a career ending injury and years away from the sport, Marian was called upon by childhood friend Ken Steven of the Dyckman basketball league to assist with the women’s division. After two seasons, she felt a need to host a tournament solely for young women. As she reflects, “I wanted to bring a tournament in which young women could be the focus and which would allow them opportunities to meet professional women who share their enthusiasm for the sport.
Jim Couch
A NYC basketball icon is only what can be said about Mr. Jim Couch. Coach Couch has lived in the Dyckman community for over 60 years. His is the founding father of DYCKMAN basketball. For over 20 years Coach Couch worked to ensure the youth within the community had a safe place to work and play. He employed many youths from within the community as statisticians and tournament aides. A former street gang worker he was able to commend the respect and admiration of the toughest youth in the community.
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Coach Couch is also known for his ability to gather the best basketball players to be a part of DYCKMAN and the UPTOWNERS basketball teams. What is more impressive is his commitment to education. He has given hundreds of educational opportunities to young men and women throughout the years. On any given day, you can watch Coach Couch on the sidelines motivating a player and guiding them to making life changing decisions.
Claudette Jackson
Claudette is a former basketball standout at George Washington High School who grew up in the DYCKMAN houses. Claudette is the voice at the UPTOWN CHALLENGE Women’s league. Claudette who coined the team “The Red Carpet” can be heard at every game welcome international guest, community members, families, and players into the park. One of Claudette’s chief talents is her ability to engage diverse populations in the sport.
Lisa Fredricks
Lisa uses her 30 plus years of basketball league operations to ensure the UPTOWN CHALLEGE is a professionally run league. Lisa is responsible the overall administration of the league from registration, communications with coaches and league officials, administration of uniforms and enforcer of league rules. Lisa is also solely responsible for the training of all staff and league stats. Lisa can be said to ensure the “temperature” at the park is cool all the time!
