Pete Goyco doesn’t need to put it on his calendar or program it into his cell phone. Every late July for the past 30 years, he finds himself on a bus to some upstate New York location for the Empire State Games.
Sometimes it’s Syracuse, a particularly good trip for the ‘Cuse alum, other times its Rochester, New Paltz or Binghamton.
The same is true this year. As the New York City basketball coordinator, he’ll leave from Bishop Ford on July 21 for an eight-hour bus ride to Buffalo for the 2010 Games.
Goyco, the Bishop Ford boys athletic director, is an Empire State Games lifer. He’s been to every competition since 1980, two years after the Olympic-style event started in Syracuse. He’s seen some of the best basketball players New York City has produced, including Chris Mullin, Kenny Anderson, Kenny Smith, Pearl Washington and Ron Artest, while Christ the King legend Sue Bird represented Long Island.
He was a manager under former Bishop Ford coach Ray Nash and former Boys High coach Frank Mickens in 1980 and hasn’t missed a Games since.
“I still think it’s one of the greatest experiences a student-athlete can have,” Goyco said.
But Goyco thought that experience would never happen again. Last year the Games were suspended, some feared for good, because of the state’s budget crunch.
“After last year I thought it was dead,” he said. “It was something I’ve known to do every summer. As soon as school ended, who is going to come out to the Empire State team? How are they going to bring it back?”
It seemed the amateur athletic event, which regularly draws 6,000 competitors from each of New York State’s eight regions in various sports from Archery to Wrestling, was on life support. But the Buffalo organizers made it work. Local businesses have pledged $1.1 million worth of support and athletes have to pay a $10 registration fee, while open athletes are asked to also fork up $25 for housing.
With AAU basketball growing in importance, it is unrealistic to expect the area’s best basketball players to head to Buffalo. But Goyco said the Empire State Games have more to offer than high-profile AAU events.
“Vegas and Orlando is nice, but because it’s the largest collection of athletes for various sports, [the athletes] like it as much,” he said. “It’s more than just basketball. This is the closest they’ll ever come to the Olympic Games and you can’t say that about any AAU basketball event.”
The open men’s team will have Division I players like Chaz Williams, who recently transferred from Hofstra to UMass, Manhattan’s Nick Walsh, Vincent Council of Providence, Justin Greene from Kent State and St. Francis College’s Akeem Bennett.
Seeing high-level talent across the various sports is what Goyco likes the most about the Empire State Games. When he’s not in the gym, Goyco makes sure he hits the other events. He watched boxer Mark Breland win an Empire State Games gold medal long before he won an Olympic gold.
Hector “Macho” Camacho and Mike Tyson also boxed representing New York City.
“That’s the best part,” Goyco said. “I think watching the medal round of track is probably the best day of the Games.”
Goyco and the other New York City volunteers will speak to the scholastic athletes about the importance of the Empire State Games, how special the opening ceremonies are and what it means to represent the region.
On the bus ride back, though, they’ll all understand.
“Once they have the experience, they all want to come back as college athletes,” Goyco said.
And Goyco will join them on the bus again.