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S.I. Stingrays have come long wayPublished: Thursday, March 31, 2011, 9:59 AMStaten Island AdvanceByALL SHORES —When Mike Neely founded the Staten Island Stingrays travel basketball program 10 yearsago, he never imagined it would branch into the well-oiled machine it’s become today."I’m definitely surprised," he said recently, noting the organization was originally called the Gymrats beforeit took its present name after one season. "It started with one team (and a year later, it became two)."Then it was five and six teams and eventually we had over 200 kids on 18 teams a few years back," Neelyadded. "All because some players from different schools wanted to play together (during that first season)."That’s how it all started."As the 11th annual Stephen Siller Stingrays Classic approaches (Saturday and Sunday at various Islandsites), Neely believes there are several factors that have enabled the program to blossom the way it has."For starters, I think we’ve been successful because we have volunteer coaches who aren’t doing it formoney. They’re doing it because they love coaching," said Neely, who currently serves as the Stingrays’ vicepresident. "Plus, a large portion of our coaching staff includes people who are either coaching or havecoached high-school basketball."We’ve also received a lot of support from the high schools themselves and our registration fee is a low ratecompared to some others."Neely, who said Anaconda Sports has served as a co-sponsor in recent years, was also quick to praisepresident Rich Ferrara and director of coaches Jay Zieris for their tireless work."There’s no question a lot of hard work from a lot of people that volunteer have made us what we are," saidNeely, who coached himself for five seasons. "We also have former players who have come back andcoached for us — my son Michael did it for two years, as did (former St. Peter’s and current College ofStaten Island star guard) Tommy Tibbs."Neely said he’s proud of the fact that Stingrays’ players have donated their time to causes inside and out ofthe organization.Page 172 of 179