The Parkland School District has a history of winning athletic programs and that’s not by accident.

Part of that success starts at the youth levels and continues throughout high school.

One group of young players who could soon be helping the varsity Trojans on the hardwood includes a foursome of players that have picked up titles on every team they’ve played on over the past few years.

Tyler Beck, Ryan Kearney, Blake Nassry and TJ Lawrence have been part of several basketball championships over the past two seasons.

In 2021, they were part of a Schnecksville Playground Association 7th grade team that went 10-0 in the Lehigh Valley Knee-Hi Basketball League’s winter season. The team, which also included teammates Jude Ruisch, Caleb Corsa, Bear Jacobs, Abu Rhodus and Ethan Leaks, earned playoff and league championships that season. The team was coached by Derik Beck and Oliver Nassry.

Those core four players were also part of a Schnecksville Playground 7th grade AAU team that went 44-11 in 2021 while winning eight championships and posting two runner-up finishes. Coached by Beck, Nassry and Ed Kearney the AAU team also included Rhodus (Emmaus), Sean Daubert (Emmaus), Mason Bollinger (Northwestern Lehigh), Cole Richards (Whitehall) and Jaysen Blacknall (Phillipsburg).

The foursome was also part of a 2021 7th/8th grade summer league team that went 10-0 and earned a league championship along with teammates Ruisch, Bollinger and Daubert.

In 2022, Beck, Kearney, Nassry and Lawrence helped another Schnecksville Playground Association team win a winter league title. With teammates Ruisch, Rhodus, Nassim Adams and Corsa, the team went 17-0 and earned the regular season and playoff championships. That squad was coached by Derik Beck, Oliver Nassry and Ed Kearney.

In last year’s scholastic season, the four player were back on the court helping their respective middle school teams. Beck, Nassry, Lawrence, Corsa and Jacobs helped the Springhouse MS team to a 14-0 season, while Kearney, Ruisch and Adams were on a 13-1 Orefield MS team last season.

In the 2022 AAU season, as an 8th grade team the group went 47-6 while winning another eight titles and earning three second-place finishes. Whitehall’s Cole Richards joined Beck, Nassry, Lawrence, Kearney, Rhodus, Daubert and Bollinger on the AAU team this year. That was coached by Derik Beck, Oliver Nassry, Ed Kearney, Tristan Lawrence and Sean Daubert, Sr.

With a group of ninth graders playing in a 9th/10th grade summer league division, Beck, Nassry, Lawrence, Kearney, Ruisch, Adams, Corsa and Jacobs went unbeaten and won a league title last summer.

Derik Beck, who runs a grassroots program called Beck Basketball, is happy to see the talent flourish under his guidance, but one main ingredient for all his teams’ successes is a focus on team play.

“Team ball is all I teach,” Beck said. “If they go out there as a team and not as individuals, and give everything they have, they will be a hard team to beat.

“There is only one stat that the team should be concerned about. Did they win or lose the game? Not how many points they scored, but did they win or lose? What did they do on the court to help the team succeed? Was it rebounding, giving solid screens, scrambling for loose balls, being a good teammate?”

Teaching youth basketball is a joy for Beck, who believes feeder programs are an investment in a varsity squad’s success.

“Youth basketball and the impact to a feeder program is huge,” Beck said. “The players experience being part of a team, overcoming obstacles, new challenges, new experiences, handling pressure situations, finding their role to help the team succeed are some of the things that stand out about basketball.”

Beck’s AAU squad is not one in which players can pay to secure a spot. A player must be invited and one determining factor is a player’s character.

“It’s something special and important to build upon,” Beck said. “These kids want to play together. If you are talented but you have a bad attitude we move on.”