Meet the Founder - Ryan Kennedy

My training career officially began in the summer of 2020 when I started training kids at Maurice Park in Maspeth. Over the last 5 years, I have worked with hundreds of players ranging from five year olds to college basketball players. As a player, I was always a gym rat looking for new ways to get better. I knew that once my playing career was over, I wanted to become a trainer. A pivotal moment in my training career came back in November of 2022 when I attended Trainer University and learned from the legendary Micah Lancaster. Through learning his skill terminology and training methods, I was able to become a much more effective teacher.

I teach kids how to move better on the court through showing them proper body positioning, optimal footwork and teaching them new skills and painting pictures for them on when to use them. This is a true basketball education. I don’t just put kids through workouts. Every drill we do has a why behind it and the kids will understand that why. The best basketball players are so skilled that they make the game look simple. However, basketball is NOT a simple game. This is where so many coaches confuse players. To be successful in basketball, you need a combination of elite skill, elite athleticism and a high basketball IQ. At Grind City Skills, we make sure to fill all three of those buckets. I want to train the gym rats that are willing to put in as much work as it takes to achieve the results they want. This is a consistent grind!

I played my high school basketball at Xavier High School in Manhattan. In 2011, I was apart of a freshman that won a CHSAA ‘A’ City Championship. I played three seasons of varsity basketball under Hall of Fame Coach, Joe McGrane. In 2014, we won the CHSAA ‘A’ City Championship. I was a two-time All-League selection. I led the league in scoring my senior year. I was selected to play in the Mayors Cup and Wheelchair Classic my senior year.

In college, I went to DII Pace University my freshman year as a preferred walk-on. After my freshman year, I transferred to DIII Farmingdale State College, where I played for three years. I was apart of two Skyline Conference Championship teams in 2017 and 2019. I was a starter my Junior and Senior seasons.

Meet Head Trainer - Joe Evangelista

I started my basketball career out at Xavier High School in Manhattan. I grew up in Brooklyn, New York. I was an All City Selection at Xavier both my junior and senior years, playing under Hall Fame Coach McGrane. After graduating from Xavier I decided to do a post grad year at the prestigious Millbrook School in upstate New York to gain more exposure and further develop as a player. I was an All Nepsac selection and Western New England Prep honorable mention. I finished my high school career with 900+ career points. I started training kids in the summer of 2024, shadowing and learning from Ryan Kennedy. I currently play Division 3 basketball at SUNY Cortland where I am studying to become a physical therapist. Studying physical therapy at SUNY Cortland adds another dimension to my training. I integrate knowledge of body mechanics, injury prevention, and recovery into player development. I continue to train with Ryan and take a lot of what I’ve learned from him along with everything I’ve learned on my own to train myself. Playing professionally after my college career is a goal I push towards every day. I love helping kids at the grassroots level who are hungry to improve their game and chase their dreams like I’m currently doing.