Mahwah coach award finalist stands tall for others
Mike Simmel is erasing stigmas in basketball
MAHWAH – What do you do when you want to participate in a sport that you love and are told “no”?
You don’t give up, that’s what. Sporadic bouts of epilepsy and a less-than-statuesque 5-foot-9-inch frame should have told Mike Simmel that basketball was not the optimal choice for him.
Yet the founder of the Bounce Out the Stigma Project basketball camps for children with special needs in 23 states did not abandon the sport he loved. The former Harlem Wizards player is a finalist for the 2024 Jr. Knicks Coach of the Year award sponsored by the Hospital for Special Surgery, which honors coaches who make a positive impact on and off the court in their communities.
“Our motto is ‘empowering challenged youth to believe they can, while erasing the stigma from those who say they can’t,’” said Simmel, a 46-year-old township resident.
There are no half-measures in Simmel’s love of basketball. Asked to draw his favorite Bible character in Sunday school, he said, he promptly drew a picture of Celtics player No. 33 because “Larry Bird is God.”
Simmel was frequently seen in Allendale, where he grew up, walking his dog and dribbling a basketball. His father told him to do it to improve his motor skills.
Despite suffering from seizures, Simmel was a three-year varsity starting point guard at Don Bosco in Ramsey, followed by a year at the Hun School at Princeton, where he led the varsity team in assists and steals.
Simmel played basketball at Binghamton University and later finished his college career at SUNY Purchase. There, he was captain of the varsity team for two years and again led in assists and steals. At Purchase, his basketball skills caught the eye of Knicks players, who made him their ball boy.
On a dare from his brother, Simmel went on to demonstrate his ballhandling skills on the “It’s Showtime at the Apollo!” TV show, where he said he “was not booed off the stage and survived!” In turn, his appearance led to a tryout and 13 seasons as “Mighty Mike” with the charity basketball team Harlem Wizards, starting while he was in college.
Still, Simmel said, the near-dismissal from a basketball camp at age 16 because of his seizures continued to haunt him.
“I never wanted a kid to feel the same way that I felt at that basketball camp,” Simmel said.
Special needs
The result, started in 2005 while he was with the Harlem Wizards, was the Bounce Out the Stigma Project basketball camps.
The camps are aimed at children and young adults ages 7 to 21 with learning disabilities and slow motor skill development. The camps rotate throughout North Jersey and 22 other states. Children with autism, ADHD, epilepsy, neurological disorders, spectrum diagnosis and mental/emotional challenges are welcome.
“The keys are fun, development and self-confidence without pressure,” Simmel said.
With his seizures now under control with medication, Simmel has assumed full-time control of the program. He urges his young charges to “stay focused on the present.”
“Listen to your personal dream team,” Simmel said. “Your parents are your team president, your doctor is the general manager, ‘Mighty Mike’ is your coach, and you are the most valuable player,” he said. “If you do all the right things, everything will fall into place for you, and you will be shooting for the stars.”
For more information on Bounce Out the Stigma after-school, weekend and summer camps, visit bounceoutthestigma.org.