The Shock Exchange had its recent investment meeting on March 16, 2008 and it was truly a star-studded event.  Jessica Jones and Jerry Jack of Black Enterprise were on hand to meet the team and to get a better understanding our investment process.  In her article Round ball and Round Lots, Ms. Jones documents the various enticements used to teach kids about saving and investing, with sports being one of them.  The article goes in depth about the Shock Exchange's basketball program and the performance of the Shock Exchange Fund.  I encourage everyone to pick up the July issue of the magazine. 

As an aside, we have received 20k visitors to our website since the article came out.  We really appreciate the interest and we hope you learned a lot from what the kids are doing.  However, nobody sent us any donations.  The Shock Exchange is a non-profit organization that relies on contributions from parents and the public.  All donations are tax deductible.  Thank-you in advance.

Sam Cassell Looking Fresh to Def After 12U Chip

Harlem Kings, Kips Bay, Playaz Show and Prove 

Bring the top travel teams on the East Coast to City College with its rich basketball history, have them play in front of that NYC crowd with Harlem as the backdrop and some fly gear (with the Shock Exchange Baller Boy logo affixed) as the pay off, and what do you get?  You get, Shock Exchange Comes to Harlem, of course.  Friday, the first day of the tournament, began as more of a curiosity.  Everyone wanted to know who the Shock Exchange was and if the tournament would live up to the hype.  Well it did, and then some.  The turn out was absolutely crazy, the atmosphere electric, and the teams and coaches all rose to the occasion.  By Saturday, everyone was "in it to win it", scouting the competition, checking standings, calculating the road to the Chip for the 5th time, and trying to gain every edge possible - from handpicking courts to handpicking game times - hey if you ain't cheatin' you ain't tryin'. 

As everyone looked for an early indication as to where their teams ranked, the Harlem Kings put everyone on notice that they are a force to reckoned with - sweeping the 13U, 14U, and 15U divisions - a feat we will probably never see again.  Kips Bay tried to get greedy, taking the 16U Chip and falling just short to Sam Casell All-Stars (who let him back in the NYC) in the 12U finals, while the Playaz had second place finishes in the 16U and 14U divisions.  The full results are below:

16U: Kips Bay 1st Place, Playaz 2nd Place; 15U: Harlem Kings 1st Place, Coast 2 Coast 2nd Place; 14U: Harlem Kings 1st Place, Playaz 2nd Place, 13U: Harlem Kings 1st Place, Gauchos 2nd Place; 12U: Sam Cassell All-Stars 1st Place, Kips Bay 2nd Place.

In the uptown action adventure, Shock Exchange Comes to Harlem, Mr. Baker has recently learned that Harlem is about to be attacked by some of the most devastating travel basketball teams in the US and maybe even Canada.  They are plotting to wrest the title of "basketball mecca" from the NYC.  They plan to bring weapons such as the "slam dunk" , the "sky hook", the "fade away", and the "killer crossover" . . . killer crossover?.  They may even employ unconventional strategies such as the "full court press", the "give-and-go" and the "1-3-1 zone".  America's Favorite Investment Ballers, brave as they are, have been summoned  to defend Harlem against these interlopers. 

They come with charming names like Venom, Playaz, Kips Bay, Road Runners, Patriots, Ruffriders, Gauchos, Dragons, Celtics, Blue Devils, Swarm, Hawks, Defenders, Coast 2 Coast, Rockets, CT Xclusive, It Starts Right Here . . . Right Now, Breakers, Terminators, Northstars, Harlem Kings, Abyssian, Hersh, Bingo, Falcons, Ballers.  The Durham City Bulldogs and Ajax Lions, two top teams from out of Toronto, Canada will also be present.  I thought it was bad when the Canadian dollar recently surpassed the US dollar, but now they want the title too?  While I'm on it, since 1995 the Canadian dollar has appreciated against the US dollar by almost 40% . . . this is unacceptable.  As we speak, our sources warn us that Team Melo and Sam Cassell All-Stars were overheard down in B-Mo' telling their people to "tool up".

The battle will take place not coincidentally at City College, which in 1950 was the mecca of the basketball world when it became the first team to win the NIT and NCAA titles in the same year.  Please Click Here for the Registration form.  For recommended hotels and hostels, click "read more" below.

 

The team had its recent investment meeting on Sunday July 30, 2007 and just as I suspected --- the kids > Coach Baker!  A year later, the stocks picked by the kids (Apple and GameStop) have trounced the performance of Coach Baker's stock (Phoenix Insurance).  Apple achieved a 112% return, GameStop an 82% return, compared to Phoenix's negative 1% return.  It appears that Apple and GameStop have been the beneficiary of new technologies and trends that are popular with kids.  Whoever coined the phrase "out of the mouths of babes" was a genius, because truer words were never spoken.  The results just go to prove that it is nothing short of amazing what our kids know about what's hot and what's not and which companies will benefit.

But as we look to set the portfolio for the future, several questions and issues arose.  Can Apple and Steve Jobs maintain its recent momentum?  Dimitry Martelli believes that the Sidekick from T-Mobile is cooler and has more features than the Apple iPhone and thinks it is time to dump Apple, while Christopher Smith (Nick's dad) believes it is foolish to bet against Apple, regardless of its recent run-up.  David Higham (Jett's dad) thinks GameStop will soon become a dinosaur as consumers will eventually start buying games online instead of in stores.  Furthermore, we should dump GameStop before it realizes a similar fate as Blockbuster.  Dimitry countered that Sony was marking down the price of the PS3 so GameStop's sales, and earnings, would get a short-term jolt (Dimitry how do you know this stuff?). 

However, a topic everyone could agree on is that Mr. Baker is too emotionally attached to Phoenix.  We had to stop the meeting on several occasions to wait for the laughter from the kids and parents to subside.  But like a true executive, Mr. Baker tried to position himself so that Mr. Neverson would take the fall.  When that didn't work, he threatened to cut back everyone's playing time . . . ironically the laughter suddenly subsided.  We finished the meeting with a task for the kids to decide which stocks to trade out of and which ones to add.  The new candidates are Johnson & Johnson, Prada (fat chance Dimitry), American Express, Nike and Adidas.  The entire results from the meeting is in the process of being updated on the "Shock Exchange Fund" webpage.

Mr. Neverson defends his investment in Phoenix

During the week of March 17th Coach Baker was just informed that two of his starting players from last year have been recruited away to play for another team in Brooklyn.  I have heard of teams recruiting other people's players but have never seen it first hand.  I have spent the past few years flying under the radar and trying to play it close to the vest about who we were and who was on my team in order to avoid "getting got".  But "snitches" are everywhere . . . always talking about what "had happened" and what they've "seen or heard", and they're ruining our communities.  The only people who need to know who is part of our program are our parents, players, and ultimately, our sponsors.  It's a backhanded compliment in a way in that other teams admire our players and our program to the point where they feel compelled enough to try to steal our players away. 

Ironically it all happened during the most important juncture of our program, the week of Shock Exchange Comes to Harlem where the Shock Exchange has been asked by city officials to defend Harlem against the interlopers.  But anyway you slice it . . .  in the name of Omar Little . . . "We Just Got Got!"

In June the Shock Exchange's 12U, 13U, and 14U/15U teams began play at Brooklyn's famed Brower Park and Dunker's Delight at Wingate Park where you are awarded 3 points for a dunk.  With Nick and Ralphie, holdovers from last year's team, the Shock Exchange expanded the talent pool as it looked to put the local outdoor tournaments in the proverbial "choke hold".  With its spirited play, "never say die" attitude, and colorful name, the Shock Exchange has become a crowd favorite at both Brower and Wingate.  Winning the crowd at these parks is no easy feat, as the local fans (i) take their basketball seriously and (ii) recognize the real from the fake on the court.  The competition has been rugged at times but as the local competition can attest, America's Favorite Investment Ballers like to give as good as they get.  As we head into the playoffs, the team with the colorful name - "New York Shock Exchange" - expects to add to both its street rep and to local urban lore.

Saquan goes into his dance routine at Dunker's Delight

The Shock Exchange's 12U team and 13U team competed at the Atlantic City Classic over over the weekend of July 7-8.  Both teams had an impressive showing as they both went 2-1 and finished one game short of making it to the championship game.  The 12U team defeated a team from Wayne, PA and defeated the Delaware Magic out of Dover.  The Shock Exchange and the Magic were evenly matched as the Shock Exchange held a 7-8 point lead throughout the game, only to see the Magic fight back to tie the game late.  The Shock Exchange could have folded but instead, dug down deep to retake control of the game and pull out a six point victory against a very game and determined Magic squad. 

During early April, models Jazzbenz of Virginia State University and Shanice of Virginia Commonwealth University came up to the City for a photo shoot to display our summer apparel line.  We looked for several locations for the shoot but finally decided on Times Square, given its univeral appeal.  We also spotted an aspiring artist wearing our signature Baller Boy Cap in Mid-Town Manhattan, so we included him in the shoot as well.  Look for the our apparel in the "apparels" page of our website or at a retail location nearest year.

Shock Exchange Team Jersey adorned by Shanice . . . Shockalicious!