Larry L. Merritt Founder & CEO
Mr. Merritt founded Merritting Attention, Inc. in 1998. A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Merritt began his basketball career at Cathedral High School and played both football and basketball where he received All-Scholastic, Player of the Year, and Dream Team honors.
Merritt received a full-four year basketball scholarship and a B.S. in Business Administration from Merrimack College (1996). While at Merrimack College, Merritt was selected Captain by his teammates for the 1995-1996 season.Read More...
In his junior year, he was named the Lawrence Boys Club MVP by its club members and the Merrimack College Men's Basketball Team MVP and selected to the NCAA Division II New England All-Star Team in his senior year. In 1995, Merritt founded Brothers & Sisters United, the first multicultural student/staff organization on campus, whose mission was to educate and build diversity on campus, and to recruit and retain students and staff of color at Merrimack College.
Merritt has received community service awards such as: the Nelson Mandela Youth Award, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award, Malcolm X Community Service Award, the Commonwelath of Massachusetts State Senate Citation, Commonwealth of Massachusetts House of Representatives Citation and the City of Boston City Councilor's Citation, the Governor of Massachusetts Citation for his tireless commitment to the young people in the City of Boston.
Elliot Fontaine
Coach Elliot Fontaine just finished his first season with the MABC Bengals as Head Coach of the 10U/4th Grade Boys team. Fontaine spent most of his childhood days at the Lawrence Boys and Girls Club (MA), where he was taught the game of basketball by local coaching legend Steve Kelly. Through Kelly, Fontaine learned the value of structure and discipline, and later began attending the annual Academic Basketball Awareness Camp (ABA) at Merrimack College in Andover, MA. Participating in the annual ABA camp led to the opportunity for Fontaine to attend high school at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, NH. Read More...
While there, Fontaine was a member of the Brewster team that won the 1988 New England Class B Championship and also traveled to Japan with the team to conduct mini basketball camps for children in Osaka and Tokyo.
Fontaine later earned a full basketball scholarship to attend the Division I school Lafayette College in Easton, PA. After earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts, he later went to work for the Waltham Boys and Girls Club (Waltham, MA) where he coached the high school division team, as well as facilitated instructional basketball clinics with the Boston University and Brandeis University Men’s Basketball teams.
Coach Fontaine went on to volunteer for the Chelsea Youth Basketball League (Chelsea, MA), coaching for the Junior Division (8-10 year olds) from 1999-2001. The following year, he was selected as both the Junior Varsity Head Coach and the Assistant Varsity Head Coach at Chelsea High School, where Fontaine helped the varsity team qualify for the MA State Tournament the next three years.
This year, under Coach Fontaine’s direction, the 10U/4th Grade Boys MABC team finished as the New England AAU Super Regional Bronze Medalist, the MABC Bengals Spring Showdown Champions, the Mass Rivals Mill City Madness Champions, the Massachusetts AAU State Championship Silver Medalist, and traveled to participate in the AAU National Championships, in Cocoa Beach, FL.
For the past 12 years, Coach Fontaine has lived in Chelsea, MA with his fiance (and 10U/4th Grade MABC assistant coach), Ramona Foster, and their four children, Terrell, Isaiah, Ramona and Sophia. Together they volunteer to increase the self-confidence of their young student-athletes by creating a nurturing environment where they can learn, grow, improve individual skills and develop character, all in support of the MABC mission.
Ramona Foster
Coach Ramona Foster just finished her first season with the MABC Bengals as Assistant Coach of the 10U/4th Grade Boys team. Foster is a graduate of Emmanuel College where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology in December 1994. It was that year, while still completing her undergraduate studies, that Foster was selected as the head coach of the girls varsity team at Chelsea High School (CHS) in Chelsea, MA. At CHS, she quickly established a program, becoming not only the youngest coach (23), but also the most successful basketball coach in the school's history, boys or girls. Read More...
During her 5-year tenure at CHS, Coach Foster led her teams to three consecutive Commonwealth Athletic Conference (CAC) Championships and finished in second-place the last two years, while amassing an overall record of 82-14 (.86%). Her teams set over 25 new school records, each team dominating conference playoffs and qualifying for the state tournament all five years. In addition, 2 players signed four-year university scholarships.
Foster was also the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at North Shore Community College (Lynn, MA), worked for several basketball camps and also spent four years volunteering as a top administrator for the Chelsea Youth Basketball League. Foster was recently elected to the Chelsea School Committee, is a member of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and, until recently, served on several local boards and steering committees, including the Hyams Foundation Afterschool Initiative, Lewis Latimer Society and the Chelsea Community Schools.
Coach Foster has worked as a teacher, coach, school administrator, and advisory board member for over fourteen years. She is entering her fifth year working as an Education Specialist with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, is working towards her Masters Degree in Special Education and also holds a Massachusetts Special Education teaching license. Foster was recently awarded the Teacher of the Year Award from the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), the Phenomenal Woman Community Service Award by the Lewis Latimer Society and was nominated for induction into the 2007 Chelsea High School Hall of Fame, for her coaching successes.
Coach Foster is entering her third year as an assistant women's basketball coach at Emmanuel College (Boston, MA). For the past 12 years, Foster has lived in Chelsea, MA with her fiance (and 10U/4th Grade MABC Head Coach), Elliot Fontaine, and their four children, Terrell, Isaiah, Ramona and Sophia. Together they volunteer for MABC to increase the self-confidence of their young student-athletes by creating a nurturing environment where they can learn, grow, improve individual skills and develop character, all in support of the MABC mission.
Vincent Connelly
Coach Vin is a former Division I college basketball player. He brings a strict discipline and emphasis on fundamental skills. He teaches players how to practice alone to become skilled shooters, passers, and dribblers. His ability to motivate athletes to play as a team allows his players to compete at a high level. He always believes he can win.
Coach Vin has coached competitive teams in Brookline Public Schools, Brookline Travel, AAU, and BNBL summer leagues for grades 5-9 for the past decade. He works full-time as a chef consultant, helping schools in the area prepare healthier lunches. He has published several health-oriented cookbooks.
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Serafino Bocchino
Coach "Bo" has been coaching AAU since 1999. He joined the MABC coaching staff in 2005 as the Director of Player Development. He has been a member of the I.A.A.B.O Board 27 (Referee association) since 1988. He is the founder and director of Saugus Travel Basketball and a Boston Community Schools Volunteer. Serafino's 13 year old son Peter Bocchino plays for the "Bengals" 8th grade black team.
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Victor Kingsley
Vic Kingsley was born and raised in the Uphams Corner section of Dorchester. He played basketball at Boston Latin School and Division 1 at the University of Rhode Island. As a teenager, he played BNBL and at the Dorchester Daniel Marr, Charlestown and South Boston Boys Clubs. He continued his involvement in youth development and coaching both in Boston and Wellesley as well as AAU with the Bay State Jaguars and most recently with MABC 8th Grade Boys team. Vic is the proud father of two children, Amanda (17) and Andrew (14) and is an active member of the Merritting Attention staff involved with coaching and future organizational development. Vic's son Andrew plays for the MABC 9th Grade Boys team.
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Wayne Selden, Sr.
Coming Soon!
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Earl Stephen
Earl Stephen joined the MABC coaching staff in 2006 as an Assistant Coach. He continued his passion for coaching in 2007, leading the 5th grade boys team to an AAU National Championship title. In 2008, he served as both Head Coach of the 5th grade boys team and Assistant Coach of the 6th grade boys team who ranked 4th in the country in the 2008 AAU National Championships. His greatest joy comes from coaching his 12 year old son Earl Jr. who began playing with the MABC Bengals in 2006. Earl is a native of New York City and currently resides in Boston, MA.Read More...
Kasjah Scarlett
Coming Soon!
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Corey Whitehall
Corey Whitehall moved to Boston from Barbados (West Indies) in his primary years and is a graduate of Hyde Park High School (Class of 1995). He loves working with kids and has been coaching basketball since 1997. He began coaching in Boston's BNBL League and went on to acquire a position at Hyde Park High school in 1999. He came to the MABC family in 2007 volunteering first with the SADBC basketball camp in the fall and spring of 2008, and then went on to coach this past AAU season for the 3rd grade and 7th grade boys orange teams.
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