The mission of the Gator Ball Academy Summer Camps is to provide activites that are entertaining, educational, and provide a model of healthy living.
 Larry "Gator" Rivers
Harlem Globetrotters
  At age seven, Larry Rivers was fascinated by Marques Haynes' ball handling skills in the movie "Go Man Go."  On his way home from the theater, Rivers told his mother he wanted to be a Harlem Globetrotter, so she bought him a basketball at the local pawn shop and he started practicing his ball handling skills.
  Sixteen years later, Rivers' boyhood dream came true.  Marques Haynes held a tryout for Rivers, who at the time was an All-Conference guard at Missouri Western State College in St. Joseph, Missouri.
  Haynes kept in touch after being impressed with Rivers' extraordinary control of the basketball and two summers later, Rivers was asked to attend a formal try-out for the Globetrotters.
  From 1973 to 1986 Larry "Gator" Rivers was the premier dribbler and served his last six years as a player/coach.  During his playing years, Gator was hailed as the greatest ball handler in the world.
  Since leaving the Globetrotters, Rivers has formed a youth foundation, the Gatorball Academy.  Gator Rivers still practices his skills and sometimes adds new tricks to his ball handling repertoire, but now is most concerned with helping kids find the right path to personal success.
 



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David Naves

Mr. David Naves Biography

Mr. David Naves has a strong desire to encourage our youth to be the best they can be. He believes that with vision, passion, purpose, guidance, and planning, our youth can be successful in all of their endeavors; be it academic, sports, business, or relationships.  Mr. Naves was born and raised on the south side of Chicago.  He had always been passionate about basketball, science, and technology.  Making a living doing any of these would be a dream come true.  That being his vision, he attended Lindblom Technical HS (a STEM school).  His parents as well as teachers and coaches at Lindblom Tech. were phenomenal and provided him the guidance that would shape his future education and business endeavors.   Mr. Naves, a gifted high school basketball player, earned Chicago All-city and Illinois Honorable Mention All-state honors.  Mr. Naves was heavily recruited by some of the top colleges and universities in the country including the University of Iowa, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Kansas and chose to attend and play basketball at Northern Illinois University.  After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree from NIU, Mr. Naves went on to play for the world famous Harlem Globetrotters in 1971-72 performing around the world including Canada, Australia/Tasmania, New Zealand, Fiji, Tahiti, Hawaii, and New Caledonia.   After the Globetrotters, Mr. Naves has held engineering, management, or executive positions with Ford Motor Company/Body Engineering, CSX Rail, Jackson and Tull, and Swales Aerospace.  Mr. Naves holds 3 patents for railcar designs.  He was also the CEO and founder of EG&L Systems, Inc.  He is currently a Director of Engineering and the Deputy Program Manager -Systems Engineering for SGT, Inc.  SGT provides engineering services to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s programs and projects in Greenbelt, MD.   Mr. Naves is also an active member with the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA).  The mission of the NBRPA is to assist former NBA, ABA, Harlem Globetrotters, and WNBA players in their transition from the playing court into life after the game while also positively impacting communities and youth through basketball.  Passionate about giving back to the community, Mr. Naves has coached and given youth basketball clinics and is actively involved with his church.  He really enjoys speaking to youth about careers in science, engineering, and technology.  Mr. Naves is married and has 3 adult children.  He resides in Bowie, Maryland.