How League Coordinator Kevin Wachira created sky-high success for UH in NYC

Kevin Wachira playing in the Sky Open League this summer

You’re likely familiar with the Life Time Athletic at Sky due to the numerous viral videos of NBA players that have participated in star-studded pick-up runs over the past couple summers.

For the first couple years of the club’s existence, that was the only organized basketball being played in the gym. Now when the gym isn’t filled with NBA stars, it’s being occupied by Ultimate Hoops players.

In its infancy, the Sky location was a vexing puzzle of untapped potential for Ultimate Hoops. The publicity from its use by NBA players was great, but it wasn’t translating into any consistent interest for UH at the club. The exclusivity of the club is its biggest draw, especially with the basketball crowd, as court space is incredibly rare in Manhattan. That exclusivity can be a huge weakness for the club as well, especially for Ultimate Hoops, as it limits the amount of possible players to participate in a league.

The club opened in June 2016, and it was expected to start hosting leagues by that fall. Things did not go as planned, as there would be a national tournament hosted in August 2017 before the first official league started in the Spring of 2018.

Not coincidentally, that aligned with when Kevin Wachira was hired as the league coordinator at Sky.

Wachira (right) working the National Tournament this summer with Shane Soltren (right) and Nicole Freedman (middle).

“It’s a unique experience that I don’t think you’ll find anywhere else,” Wachira said. “Constant attention and hype around the gym is something that I deal with on a consistent basis.”

That unique experience is something that has hindered coordinators of the past, leading to staff overturn and a lack of a presence for Ultimate Hoops at Sky. That has changed over the last 18 months due to the increased attention from the UH corporate team, who has worked with Wachira to create consistency season to season.

Not every club gets that kind of attention, but one thing that Wachira also attributes the new-found success at Sky is something that creates success at every Life Time that offers Ultimate Hoops: real relationships.

“The fact that we’ve built real relationships with the players that continue to return to the league (has been a huge help),” Wachira said. “Creating an exceptional experience is key to having players return.”

From this past spring season to the summer season, the Sky league went from four teams to seven, the largest single-season growth the league has seen. The fall season is set to tip off tonight with eight teams, which will be the largest league Sky has seen.

“I believe it’s growing every quarter. I still believe there’s a lot of potential to have a larger presence but now it’s more impactful than it’s ever been,” Wachira said.

The continual success of the Ultimate Hoops league at Sky is making it a pristine home for amateur basketball players year-round. The NBA players still come around in the summer, and this year Wachira helped organize the runs every day at the club. He saw players like James Harden, Trae Young, Carmelo Anthony and even rapper J Cole ball out at Sky this summer. None of those players were the best he saw though.

“The most impressive player that I saw on the floor had to be Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz. He was preparing before playing for Team USA in the FIBA Games, and he showed to be the best pound-for-pound player in the runs,” he said.

While Mitchell didn’t end up playing in the FIBA games, Mitchell is off to a great start this season, as he’s averaging 24 points per game on 51.4% shooting.

We still love and play into the hype that the Black Ops NBA runs bring each summer, but the presence Ultimate Hoops has gained at Sky since Wachira took over as league coordinator has been the biggest win UH has had at the club. Each season it’s continuing to provide its basketball-obsessed members with an elite Ultimate Hoops league experience at the most exclusive Life Time in the world.

It’s now a relevant club for Ultimate Hoops 365 days out of the year, and it culminates with the New York National Tournament every August. It’s no longer just the court where Carmelo and LeBron play; it’s the court where “Hoodie” Tony Eackles was born, the court where Byron Mouton and DMV Ballers put Gaithersburg on the UH map and the court where Richie Byrd hit a buzzer-beater to send RTG to the semifinals of this year’s tournament.

It’s where NBA stars play and where UH stars are born. And now due to the work over the last 18 months from Wachira and everyone involved with UH at Sky, it’s now the court where future UH legends will play every week.