'I want to be that big brother figure': Clark junior Isaiah Taylor to host free youth basketball clinic Saturday

WORCESTER — As a 10- and 11-year-old, Clark University junior Isaiah Taylor attended the Academic Basketball Awareness Camp at Merrimack College, where he and 150 other kids from the Lawrence Boys & Girls Club moved into the dorms, learned basketball and life skills and made forever friends.

Those summer weeks were among the most powerful of Taylor’s life, and when he had the opportunity, he knew he wanted to do something similar for today’s youth.

Taylor now has that chance through his Engaged Athlete Fellowship from The Team, a nonpartisan organization that creates award-winning programming focused on integrating civic engagement and community service into college athletics.

From 9 a.m.-noon Saturday at Clark’s Kneller Athletic Center, Taylor will host a free basketball clinic for boys and girls in kindergarten through eighth grade. It’s a great way for kids to finish up their April school vacation week, and it is a project Taylor is passionate about.

“My whole reasoning behind this is because of the great people I met at the camps I went to when I was younger,” Taylor said. “They became like big brother figures to me. Once I was given the ability to chose any project of my liking, I said, ‘I’m going to do something like that,’ because I feel that has had one of the biggest and most lasting impacts on me.”

Doors open at 8:30 a.m. Saturday for registration and warmups. The basketball clinic runs from 9 to 11. There will be snacks and a Q&A from 11-noon, and maybe even a 3-point or dunk contest among Taylor’s teammates. Participants will receive a T-shirt.

“Like myself, I hope they get an experience that sticks with them for a long time,” Taylor said. “I’ll be a resource for any kid that wants to use me. I want to be that big brother figure to these kids like I had, or, if not me, one of my teammates hopefully.”

Taylor, who grew up in Methuen, is one of just 28 student-athletes from around the nation chosen for the prestigious fellowship this academic year. Holy Cross junior Caleb Kenney alsowas a recipient.

The Engaged Athlete Fellowship program includes leadership and professional development curriculum, and mentorship and support for athletes to execute their projects. A stipend from the fellowship will help pay for Saturday’s event.

Taylor, Kenney, the other fellows and directors from The Team meet monthly over Zoom, and there have been some interesting panel discussions, Taylor said. A networking event is planned in Boston next month.

Former Holy Cross assistant basketball coach Joe Kennedy is a co-founder and executive director of The Team.

Clark coach Tyler Simms encouraged Taylor to apply for the Engaged Athlete Fellowship.

“It’s no surprise he’s done well with it,” Simms said. “Doing a great clinic this weekend to serve the community fits with him as a person and with his character. It’s a continued example of his leadership, his character and his personality to be doing really good stuff off the court as well as the tangible stuff he’s done to help us win.”

Taylor, a 6-foot guard who was the 2021-22 NEWMAC Rookie of the Year, has played a major role in Clark’s resurgence under Simms.

This season, while earning All-NEWMAC honors for the second straight year, Taylor helped the Cougars win 20 games and reach the NEWMAC Tournament final for the first time since 2009-10. He led the team in assists and was second in scoring.

“It’s been nothing short of amazing,” Taylor said. “I love the progression we’ve had. Each year we’ve gotten better and made it further (in the tourney). I’m looking forward to building on that next year.”

When Simms was recruiting Taylor out of Lowell Catholic High School, where he was a 1,000-point scorer, league MVP, and once scored seven points in the final 13 seconds of a 64-63 win over Central Catholic, Taylor made an immediate impression.

“I got to know him and his mom, who is an amazing woman,” Simms said, “and he is a great young man. He is very driven. He knew what he wanted at Clark, academics (he’s a biology major) and the degree, and he has done a great job over the last three years capitalizing on the opportunities that come from a great school like Clark.”

To obtain a registration form for Saturday’s clinic, visit: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScEOhGd57kB590gpuM0BYnKRr3zKYg8hvlD24DrNtG9MYJMyQ/viewform.

—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JenTolandTG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Clark's Isaiah Taylor to host free youth basketball clinic Saturday on campus