Jamel Hansen

I would like to give honor and praise to my mother and God. I would also like to thank Ms. Rerita Essannson for honoring me and my fellow peers and basketball comrades who will also be honored in August, 2023.

I would like to start by saying my name is Jamel M. Hansen, born to Ms. Maria V. Hansen of St. Croix and St. Thomas V.I. I was born in Metropolitan Hospital on March 10^th of 1962. I have one younger sibling, Ninette Hansen and my nephew Avery Hansen.

I was raised in the Bronx and went to Morris H.S. from 1976 to 1980 and played 3 sports. Basketball, Softball and Volleyball. I graduated and went to Marist College but unfortunately didn’t get to play for Marist. Their Loss. However, I did stay with the basketball program there and developed a continued love for the game and a skill set for coaching youth basketball.

I obtained my Bachelors’ Degree in Social Work in 1985 and came back to the Bronx and found employment for the City of New York in various stages in my career. I started coaching on a grass roots level with the NYCHA as a Community Assistant in 1985 and moved up as a Community Associate in Webster Houses. This is where I started to coach boys and girls in the Webster Community Center. I took on the different challenges in that community on a daily basis but won a great deal of battles with the youth because they were so eager to learn how to play a format that had rules and regulation and competition. The game of basketball forged lifelong friendships and skills that helped the young student athletes in their development as human beings.

So, in my career path, I changed careers in 1990 and became a Case Manager for the NYC Department of Homeless Service, as an Outreach Field Case Manager and then changed path again and became Caseworker Supervisor for the Human Resources Administration in the Public Assistance System. however, basketball continues to be my passion on the side of having to pay the bills. I later changed paths again and started my own Non For-Profit Education through Sports Program called B.A.P.S (Black Athletic Professional in Sports), a grassroots program that put together Free Basketball Clinics in St. Mary’s Recreation Center and in the park in the different neighborhood that I grew up in until 2008. The program gave the children and adolescents the opportunity to travel to other neighborhoods to play the game of basketball competitively and work on their fundamental skill sets in the game and workouts. It provided discipline and structure with a student athlete who might not have that in their home.

I went back to attain my Masters in Coaching and Athletic Administration in 2012 and obtained my Master of Art Degree in Athletic Administration and Coaching from Concordia University in Irvine California 2015. I really didn’t imagine me going back to school at that late stage in my life, but a great friend and role model Mr. Dave Dennis inspired me to take that leap of faith and I actually finished and walked down the path to receive my master’s degree with my family and close friends who flew to California and supported me through my journey at Concordia University in Irvine California. This was one of the most exciting things that I am so proud to have accomplished in my life. My Mother, Maria Hansen was so very proud of me as well.

So, with this New Document I was able to finally attain a position as the head JV Coach, with the Department of Education. I was blessed to receive a recommendation from Huncho, who worked as a school safety officer at Samuel Gompers Campus but also ran one of the biggest summer basketball tournaments in Harlem called King Dome, I provided my resume to the Athletic Director of the school at the time who introduced me to the principal who was not interested in hiring me at all for whatever reason. Then the Athletic Director and Dean then introduced me to the AP, The Assistant Principal in the street across the street from the school one day and was the head coach for the girls’ softball team and the Girls varsity basketball coach. His name is Joe Wilson, another great person who loves his job and working with our adolescent student athletes. I did not remember meeting this man, upon being introduced by Dean. He said to me I remember you and I looked perplexed at him with that statement like you know me? I said from where? He said you coached one of my best female basketball players’ Lydia Ware, I said wow!!! Do you know how long that was, Jesus? I said I love Lydia, she loved playing the game of basketball and gave her all in learning and playing the game. He said thank you to me. Mr. Wilson stood in front of me, took my cell phone number and told me what I needed to do to get into the DOE so that I could assist him with the girls’ softball team and the girls’ basketball team at first and when an opportunity for the JV Boys program opens that he would give it to me to manage. So I assisted him with softball and basketball for about 2 seasons. Then an unfortunate incident happened to the Dean with a student, and she was injured badly. So, Mr. Wilson asked if I wanted the Head JV Basketball Coaches position at Samuel Gompers Campus High School in 2018 and I accepted the position.

I loved this new and exciting coaching assignment. However, I found that the dynamics were very different from when I or we were growing up. These adolescents are a new breed of student athlete. Let me correct that by saying; I must re-build the student athlete, because they did not know what that entailed or demanded.

Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit the school and restricted everyone in the school system. I was unable to go back to school due to the school system changing. Jane Adam High School was closed and according to the AP Mr. Wilson I would not be able to coach the boys the next year. So, I moved on and assisted coached in the Blue league with the 48th Precinct with 2 police officers. That was also fun in 2020 but when the season ended, I was unable to return because my mother and uncle caught covid and myself and my mother and my uncle later passed away in June and July of 2021.

Therefore, my LIFE slowed down immediately, and I still love the game and coaching but now I have another tool that makes me happy at this point with no stressors and I am still around basketball. I DJ at a couple of famous basketball tournaments in the summertime. The Coach Couch Foundation, Uptown Challenge Women Basketball Summer Tournament and Kenny Graham West 4th Summer League that has been in existence for 27 years and last year was the first time they had a live DJ. which consisted of Jamel Hansen aka DJ Jamel-e-Mel or Mele Mel. I attain happiness in both worlds watching the game and playing music for a variety of people who love the game of basketball and music.

Enclosed, I do not know where the rest of my journey will lead me, but 1 thing I do want to happen is to maintain my health and retire in peace to continue my life being comfortable and happy with my formative years.

I would like to thank Ms. Rerita Esannason, for making me one of the inductees into Noodies Legends Ball Hall of Fame 2023.