‘This Camp Will Not Die’: MERC Basketball Camp Celebrates 20 Years In Huntington Area

GREENLAWN, NY — On the final day of MERC Basketball Camp's 20th anniversary summer, campers moved through basketball stations inside the gym and some of the season's biggest prizes stirred plenty of conversation.

There had been big-screen televisions, a boat, contests throughout the five-week season and, for one 10-year-old camper, a family trip to the Bahamas.

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Camp founder Jason Mercurio started the program with just 13 children in 2006; the number, 20 years later, 185 campers participated during MERC's milestone summer.

"We had a really successful summer," Mercurio said. "The kids had a great time."

The camp employed about 40 staff members over the course of the summer, with 16 working during the final week, and Mercurio said each week drew more than 75 campers.

For a program that began after Mercurio and his best friend wandered around a backyard fire pit whether they could create a camp of their own, the anniversary offered a chance not merely to look backward but to see how much larger MERC has become. Before this summer, the camp had welcomed more than 3,600 children over its history.

Mercurio said he tried to make the 20th season different from an ordinary summer, filling it with new programs, contests and unusually large giveaways.

One camper won a large television after putting a golf ball across the gym and into a target. Another prize was a boat. Other campers took home televisions through additional challenges

"We just tried to do exciting giveaways for the kids this year, and there's been a lot of energy in the gym," Mercurio said. "The kids have been really excited for what we've been doing. For the 20th year, I think we're actually gaining a lot of momentum, not declining. I think it's way more than I ever imagined," he said

Managing that growth, he said, means making sure the camp has enough people who can sustain the atmosphere he wants children to experience day after day.

"Every week we've had over 75 campers come, so it's a lot to manage to make sure that we have a great group of people working with the kids," Mercurio said

A Bahamas surprise

One of the defining moments of the anniversary season came when Jordan Sprague, 10, was announced as the winner of MERC's Bahamas family trip contest.

The anniversary promotion offered a $2,500 travel voucher toward a Bahamas trip, with participants trying to guess the amount of money inside the camp's "Money Jug."

"I was so shocked," Jordan said. "I did not think I was gonna win."

Jordan, who said he has attended MERC for about three years, plans to travel with his mother, father and brother.

Jordan said his favorite parts of camp are "hanging out with friends, having fun, winning prizes."

He described Mercurio as "really fun and like kind to everyone" and said a basketball camp gives children a place where "players can get better at basketball and like just have fun."

Mercurio said the excitement surrounding Jordan's win was precisely why he enjoys creating large, unexpected prizes for campers.

"I've always been about trying to give out like great prizes to the kids," Mercurio said. "I think that that's something that they'll just remember forever."

The campers explain why they return

Campers described the basketball highlights, which include drills run by coaches, playoff games in which they are drafted onto teams, and five-on-five competitions.

Joey DeRisi pointed to the mixture of competition and relationships.

"One of my favorite things about camp is that we get to play games and win prizes, and Merc is just like a nice person, and I just love hanging around with him," Joey said.

Camper Bodie Schlotter focused on what he sees Mercurio putting into the program.

"My favorite thing about camp is playing games in the morning," Bodie said, "and my favorite thing about Merc is he works so hard for us to have a fun day."

The people keeping it running

Mercurio said MERC's growth would not be possible without the staff around him.

About 40 people worked during the summer, and he specifically credited directors Alyssa Mastrantonio, Brian Maini and Carolina Purpura with helping manage the day-to-day operation.

"I wouldn't really be able to have camp without them," Mercurio said. "I'm doing 1000 things."

Mastrantonio is among several who campers eventually returned to become staff members.

She attended as a child from about ages 8 to 11. Years later, after working at another summer program, Mercurio asked whether she would be interested in returning to MERC.

"I came back and I don't regret it at all," Mastrantonio said. "I love it here. It's the best summer job."

From her perspective now as a director, the quality of the people working with the children distinguishes the camp as much as any giveaway.

"I think the coaches here really make a difference," she said. "I think the coaches really try to make it super fun for the kids and keep them engaged the whole day. I think that's a big difference maker in our camp."

She said each coach is expected not simply to understand basketball, but to connect with children and keep them involved throughout the day.

Purpura came to MERC through a different path. She was not a camper, though she grew up in the Harborfields community and knew of Mercurio as a teacher while pursuing physical education herself. For her, the camp's defining characteristic is its culture.

"To be the best athlete, you have to be a good human being," Purpura said.

She said those standards — rather than basketball skill alone — are what Mercurio expects from campers.

Maini, meanwhile, has worked with MERC for roughly eight years after previously coaching basketball alongside Mercurio. He said Mercurio's ability to continually come up with something new keeps a five-week program from becoming stale.

"He keeps it fresh every week, every year, whether it's new big prizes or just new ideas for us to think about to make the kids excited and energetic," Maini said. "A lot of these kids come every week. They're here for 25 days straight, and they just have the same energy, the same excitement, the same joy."

At certain points in the day, Maini said, the gym can be filled with children "dancing and cheering and supporting each other."

"It's a culture that has been here since day one," he said.

Basketball — but not only basketball

When the directors were asked what separates MERC from other basketball camps, none of them pointed exclusively to skill development or prizes.

"We want them to have fun, and we want them to have a good time, and they learn to be a good human being here, and they learn it's not all about skill, and it's about being a good person, and I think that's what brings the kids back," Mastrantonio said. "Yes, they want to win a big screen TV, and that brings them back too, but they truly have the best day whenever they're here."

Making room for kids who otherwise could not attend

The 20th anniversary programming also extended beyond large prizes.

Mercurio said MERC held a bingo night for children in the community as a fundraiser for camp scholarships. The event included a merengue band, and proceeds were used to help cover camp memberships for children who otherwise might not get the opportunity to attend.

Mercurio also provided new details about the camp's relationship with Family Service League in Huntington.

He said Family Service League covers half of the cost of camp memberships for participating children, while MERC pays the other half using money that includes funds raised through its community programs.

MERC aims to provide that opportunity to about 10 campers each year, he said.

Two decades in Greenlawn and East Northport

The basketball program operated at the Salvation Army for roughly its first five years, then moved to its current location at St. Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Church, where it has spent 15 years.

Mercurio's father, Frank Mercurio, said he introduced his son to basketball and coached him when he was growing up. Frank said his family has lived in Greenlawn for about 45 years and has watched Jason build a program tied closely to the same community where he teaches and has spent much of his life.

"He's done a great job," Frank Mercurio said. "Great job for the community and kids and school and being a teacher."

'This camp will not die'

Twenty years after MERC opened with 13 campers, there are now children who once attended it returning as adults to help run it, staff members watching some campers attend all 25 days of the summer, and another generation of children already talking about coming back.

"This camp will not die because the kids consistently want to come back," Mastrantonio said. "I don't think this camp is ever going to go away if the kids still have that joy of coming back here. And they love it. They really love it."