At Their Best in Prime Time

Palisades High football players could have been slept in last weekend, resting on their laurels after completing a Cinderella season in which the Dolphins reached the City Section Division II semifinals. So why did running back Malcolm Creer, center Jeffrey Gaskin and five other players rise early and travel to Palms Middle School? It is because they are members of the local high school’s Team Prime Time Club. The football players, along with eight other PaliHi athletes, were coaching kids with developmental disabilities at the ‘Prime Time Games.’ On the field at Stadium by the Sea, Creer may be one of the stars, but at Palms on Saturday he was shining the spotlight on the developmentally disabled athletes who were participating in the competition. Trading the turf for the hardwood, Creer and teammates Hakeem Jawanza, Elmer Garcia, Kolmus Iheanacho, Mylz Blake and Eusibio Hoskins made crisp passes to athletes with Autism and Down syndrome, setting them up for breakaway shots or three-pointers. Putting his blocking talents to good use, Gaskin blocked while a TPT athlete slid in successfully for a layup, then gave him a high-five. Not to be outdone by the football team, volleyball players Jayenth Subrahmanyam and Jack Scharf, varsity soccer captain Kathryn Gaskin and junior varsity soccer players Elizabeth and Emma Seaman were also sharing laughs and encouragement with the Prime Time Game athletes. Also participating were Danny Escalante, Nick Jaffe and Rico Matheney representing respectively the track, lacrosse, and basketball teams. Since sixth grade, the Gaskin siblings have been volunteering and recruiting others for Team Prime, a nonprofit after-school program operating at four middle schools on the Westside offering athletic, academic and artistic programs. The organization serves approximately 700 at risk 6th- through 8th-graders per day and pairs them as mentors with young athletes with developmental disabilities. Jeff Gaskin, President and founder of the Team Prime Time Club, which was organized to support Team Prime Time with student volunteers, had no trouble convincing his teammates and friends to participate. Several times a year the program holds the Prime Time Games for athletes with Developmental Disabilities. Middle school students enrolled in the Team Prime Time after-school program coach and mentor the developmentally disabled youth in a morning of basketball, soccer and other athletic games. In June, the games are held at UCLA, where UCLA football players lend their talents to the Games. Donations to Team Prime Time can be made at www.teamprimetime.org.