Interview with Kyisha Brooks of Brooklyn Titans and Cheer
By Katherine Pantazis
Kyisha Brooks is a team mom for Brooklyn Titans and Cheer, a youth organization that provides after-school travel tackle football and cheerleading for kids ages five to fourteen. We chatted about athletics, book clubs, building community, and how football is like reading.
Can you tell me about the Brooklyn Titans and Cheer?
It's been around for a very long time, and they call me the OG. I’m like the veteran because my nephews played.
One of the things about Coach Bill [Solomon] - he’s the founder - a lot of the kids come from Albany projects or from really disadvantaged environments, so the sport really brings them together. His goal was, even if your parent can't pay, you get to play.
He has great relationships with a lot of private schools and independent schools that have sports, so he tries to match kids, and they’ll play football at one of these schools.
How did you get involved with the Brooklyn Book Bodega?
I’m strong on academics, so we were at a fair, and I saw them giving out the books, and I got their information.
Then we started doing the annual Fall Festival with the Brooklyn Titans. Me and another parent said, you know, these kids are at practice three days a week together, but they don’t really know each other. It's hard to play a team sport when you can’t really trust your teammate.
After that I started saying, “OK, during our next fall festival, I’m going to bring books.” Some parents were like, “What?” But I know Coach Bill - his mind is for the kids for the future. He doesn’t look at them as, you’re going to be an athlete; he looks at them like, use this as a tool to grow in an area where you can grow.
Last year, I actually brought the books to the field, when we were giving out the jerseys. They got their practice jersey, their book bag, the t-shirt, and a book. And, I let them choose.
Were the kids surprised when they got a book at practice?
The first reaction was like, “I don't understand what's going on.” Then coach Alex [Perez] said, “Take a book, you need to continue to expand your mind.”
He says that football is like writing. You have to see openings. Football is a strategy game, and as long as you’re reading, you can understand the strategy because you know you’ve got to read the person - read the play.
Football players were surprised to pick out books at practice. Kyisha and the coaches encourage the kids to think, “I'm not only here for something physical, but something mental.”
Coach Alex was there every step of the way with me. He looks at the books and is like, “Oh you should try to give this book to such-and-such kid.” He was flipping burgers saying, “You went and got a book, right? Here’s your hamburger; here's your hot dog. Don’t forget those books over there.”
He knows he has the babies, and they gotta learn how to read.
What impacts have you noticed from bringing books to football and cheer events?
So, it’s two things. The kids who are readers don’t feel alone. And two, the kids who are non-readers are looking at the readers and are like, “You’re not better than me, I can read too.”
My son is a non-reader, right, but now that he knows that Xavier reads books and likes books, he’s trying to say, “Oh I read Fly Guy too, or I read Captain Underpants.”
I was like, “Hey Xavier, my son is not really a reader, maybe you want a reading play date?” They were laughing. Is there such a thing as a reading play date? If there is, I want that.
Do you have any other thoughts about mixing books and sports?
I was trying to find sports books, but I'm also reluctant. Because I don't want them to think that reading about sports is it. They need to have an eclectic group. It needs to be very diverse and you’re using your imagination.
One of the things that I asked for when I emailed Brooklyn Book Bodega was I wanted African American authors. I was very particular, because a majority of our team are African American kids, so I wanted them to have a book to understand that if you wanted to write one, you could.
I appreciate that there was no question when I submitted my request for books. I’m not a public school. I’m not a literacy place. I'm just a football team. I’m just a mother. I’m the team mom. I take care of all these kids. We created a culture around that.
Do you think you will hand out books at the Fall Festival again or at practice?
I think both. The parents are starting to associate the Fall Festival with books. I think next year I'm going to have more of a strategy with asking the kids and figure out what they like.
I'm gonna keep doing it because literacy is important. And, they always think athletes aren’t literate. It's not an equal comparison. You get all those stories like, “Oh, this quarterback finally went back to school and finished his bachelor's degree.” Why is that an anomaly? Rather than a reality for all? Right? He shouldn’t be in the news as an anomaly that he’s amazing, when, quite frankly, all of them could do it.
And the ones who are smart hide their intelligence over being athletic.
Why do you think athletic kids hide being smart?
I don’t know. I think in the world of athletics there is a stigma toward being academically capable. We're not linking in their brains that there should be an association with academics.
When it comes to literacy, it's just about training the brain. And, if you have a coach who is like “You should get a book, pick it up,” the kids are like, “I’m going to get one because the coach said I should get one. If Coach says he wants to hear about it later, I'm going to read it.”
Maybe I should do this: If they get a bunch of books for one type of book, maybe give it to all the kids, and have a book club, a book meeting. Be like, hey, Brooklyn Book Bodega, can I get twenty of the same book? Give it to all the kids, and then say you have until this time to read it. Then we sit together and ask questions about it.
It has to be an interesting book. It has to be funny. It has to be something for the age groups.
Right before practice, Coach asks a couple of questions to see who read the book. And, then, it’s like, alright, give me three laps.
Katherine Pantazis is a freelancer and former early childhood educator.