By Melissa Moore-Randall
Revere residents Ryan Benenati and Tyler Duggan made sure that some young basketball players have a little extra something under their Christmas trees this year. Benenati and Duggan, both Northeast Voke 2021 graduates, have been donating their time to coach a group of hoopsters since they were in fifth grade. The team, who are all eighth graders, won the championship for the Metrowest League in 2022. This will be their last year playing together and being coached by Benenati and Duggan. So they decided for Christmas they were going to buy all their players brand new Nike sneakers. The team was presented with them at a recent practice and were overjoyed!. Parents have said “Those two boys are not only coaches but role models to those kids. They have impacted their lives outside of the basketball court”. Both Ryan and Tyler have been through the recreational and travel basketball leagues as players themselves. They noted that many players on the 8th grade team walk back and forth to practice, and they wanted to be able to give back and take some of the financial burden off of their parents.
