Minneapolis Community and Technical College: Killing a Successful Program

Sunday, July 29th at 4:30 p.m. at St. Anthony Main Theaters in Minneapolis.

The film-making career of Woodbury High School graduate Joe Carlini continues this weekend when his documentary, Second Chance U, debuts at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, July 15, at the St. Anthony Main Theater near the University of Minnesota. Its $8 dollars for admission at the door, and the goal of this film is to do film festivals, and hopefully to be sold to either ESPN 30 for 30, or Netflix. See the trailer here.


Originally Posted in the Woodbury Patch re-posted by IBNN NEWS

Minneapolis, MN (July 11, 2012)..Second Chance U, which cost close to $4,000 to produce, tells the story of the Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC) basketball team. The Mavericks were consistently one of the best teams in the country at the Junior College level.

The MCTC Mavericks religiously gave street kids a second chance at life while giving them the discipline to change their lives for the better with helping them go into right direction.

In 2009 they went to the national championship game… in 2010 the program was terminated. Watch the injustice that occurs.

The MCTC Mavericks were more than a basketball team—it was a community. Many fans of the team, like one that is featured in my film, used the Mavericks to escape from their daily problems. In 2009, the MCTC Mavericks were the No. 1 team in the nation for majority of the year. In 2010, they were not in existence.

Jay Pivec (Piv) and Ron Gates gave street kids the discipline, confidence and intangibles to make a difference in their lives.

A former player said it best. Brian McLaurin, who is now a minister in Minneapolis said, "You make think you’re not making a difference by only helping out 15 to 30 kids. But you got to realize by equipping these players to help themselves then they are able to make a difference in other people’s lives. For this basketball program helping this one student, I've helped over a thousand. That's how you make a difference."