The Saint Vincent’s CYO seventh and eighth grade boys’ travel team is the 2016 CYO Vicariate and State Champions. Four of those players are Walter Steele, Luis Rodriguez, Edilson Pinto and Emmanuel Disla.
Walter Steele is the son of Walter and Beth Steele. He’s in the eighth grade at the UP Academy Charter School of Boston, the former Gavin Middle School on Dorchester Street. His favorite subject is math and he’s a straight A student. He hopes to attend Duke University and plans on being a teacher.
In addition to his CYO team winning two titles, Walter’s school team won the city charter school championship. This year in a school game, he netted 23 points and hauled down 16 rebounds. Last season in a CYO Vicariate tournament game, Walter had 16 blocked shots against Saint Agatha’s of Milton.
“His progression this season was unbelievable,” said Saint Vincent’s coach Billy Allen. “Walter never complains and works hard on the court even when he’s getting knocked around and not getting any calls from the game officials. His ability to protect the rim and alter shots while grabbing rebounds is something to see. Even though they don’t have MVPs in the CYO Vicariate Tournament, players and coaches have approached me and told me Walter deserves such recognition.”
Luis Rodriguez is the son Flordeliz Rodriguez. He’s in the eighth grade at UP Academy. His favorite subject is math and he’s an honor roll student. He hopes to attend either UConn or the University of Michigan and plans on being an accountant.
Luis played with Steele on the UP Academy team, which recently won the city charter school championship. Luis was the MVP of the charter school’s tournament. And although he’s a first year player for Saint Vincent’s, he has already taken on a crucial role on the court for the team and is a role model and mentor for the younger players in this program.
“Although he’s new to us, we depend on him to run our plays,” Allen said. “He’s a knock down shooter who works hard to get better every time he steps onto the court.
“Luis also helps the younger players,” Allen said. “He shows them basketball drills and how they can improve their game. He’s a smart player with a big heart.”
Edilson Pinto is the son of Adilson Gomes. He’s in the seventh grade at the Dearborn Middle School on Greenville Street near Dudley Square. He’s doing well in school and enjoys math class. He hopes to attend UConn and be an engineer someday. This is his first year playing basketball but he loves the game and the new friends he’s made on the team.
“I first met Edilson at the Condon (Community Center) when he was swimming in the pool and staying busy in the computer lab,” said Allen. “I got him to play for the team so he’d get involved in hoop and make so new friends. And it worked.”
Emmanuel Disla is the son of Carmen Ramos and Franklin Disla. He’s in the eighth grade at the Boston Collegiate Charter School in Dorchester. He’s also an honor roll student and loves going to his writing class. He hopes to attend Boston College and become a teacher.
“He’s our defensive specialist,” Allen said. “He’s scrappy and has a nose for the ball, always getting to and diving for loose balls on the court. He’s one of the leaders on the team. Makes all the players comfortable no matter what their skill level is … and he leads by example.”
Pictured is Saint’s Vincent’s coach Billy Allen (left) holding the CYO Vicariate Tournament championship trophy, while his young assistant, AJ Mansaray (right) holds the CYO state tournament championship trophy.
