When the covid pandemic hit in 2020, people had a lot of free time and used it in myriad ways.

James Threatte of New Kensington used his free time to come up with a solution to a problem he observed in his community.

Threatte looked at the Burrell and Deer Lakes football teams and noticed their recent success stemmed from having summer youth programs that served as feeder programs for the junior high and high school.

Threatte, a 2010 Valley graduate, wanted the same for the New Ken-Arnold school system.

“There were no programs for my son, who’s now 11, when he was coming up,” Threatte said. “No youth sports programs in the summer for the kids around the New Ken area, and I knew that needed to change.”

With no local program, young players were traveling further and, in some cases, spending more money for other programs. Threatte wanted a program closer to home.

In 2021, he established the Skillz and Drillz program for children ages 5-14 in the area.

The program runs three days a week from the end of school until the beginning of pee-wee football and focuses on football drills, as well as helping players with their conditioning, technique and agility.

“I’ve seen a lot of improvement from the kids,” Threatte said. “I’ve seen a lot of the kids not giving up; they’re working really hard.”

One notable part of the program is the weekly media days that are held Wednesdays.

“A lot of these kids want to play at least as far as college,” Threatte said. “So, we want to give them as close to the full college experience as we can.

“If they get to the college level, the camera will be on them nearly all the time. There’s going to be media days and times when they will be interviewed, so we put together our own little simulation, just to help them along and be prepared and reach their goals.”

Threatte is able to provide a local example for the players in his program that shows their hard work can pay off.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Skyy Moore is from New Kensington and an alumnus of Ar-Ken Youth Football & Cheer.

“He is a symbol to me and the youth that kids from New Ken can achieve their dreams,” Threatte said. “I feel there are more of Skyy in this town, but many life factors get in their way.”

Threatte has been an active member in the New Kensington athletic community for years. He began as a pee-wee football coach in the Ar-Ken Youth Football & Cheer Organization.

From 2017-22 he coached the 5-6 aged pee-wee football team, winning a Steel City Midget Football League flag championship in 2019. Since 2023, Threatte has coached the 7-to-8-year-old pee-wee team, the Ar-Ken Hawks.

In 2021, the team joined the Big East Youth Football Conference where it played teams from 5A school districts like Gateway, Franklin Regional, Penn-Trafford and McKeesport.

Threatte also has been a part of the Valley youth wrestling program for five years. There he learned a lot about how to reach the athletes and get them to take in what he was teaching.

“Chuck (Perkins) taught me everything,” Threatte said. “How to reach the kids, what they need to get further, to push them, and to believe in them.

“He’s been a big person in my life. If there was a hall of fame or a Mt. Rushmore for this community, he would be up there, and I want to be up there with him as well.”

Stemming from the Skillz and Drillz program is a flag football team that Threatte says was put together on a whim after a parent mentioned a tournament being held.

Threatte put together a team from interested players in the program, and they competed at North Park for the 2023 Turkey Bowl.

“We didn’t even have jerseys, just T-shirts with our name, NXT GEN, on them,” Threatte said.

The team, which had only two practices, went on to win the Turkey Bowl championship, beating teams from Aliquippa (twice), Quaker Valley and Pine-Richland.

This season, NXT GEN will compete in the Pittsburgh NFL Flag Football League, which has an eight-game schedule with playoffs and a championship. Then, they will participate in the seventh annual Steel City Showdown in June.

With the success he already has had, coupled with the involvement of the parents, who are excited about having programs close to home, Threatte is on the right track in building his program.

“Parents love it and, without them, Skillz and Drillz wouldn’t be where it’s at because of their trust in me,” Threatte said. “They’ve given me the chance to work with and coach their kids, some of whom I’ve coached before.”

In his quest to build a successful program, Threatte ran into only one issue; not having a suitable field to play or practice on, especially when the weather was uncooperative.

“I wanted to run a really legitimate program, and there’s really no good field in New Ken that has public access or isn’t in areas you don’t want kids to walk or be alone,” he said.

Threatte used multiple locations, including a field next to Roy A. Hunt Elementary and the field in Memorial Park, but he wasn’t satisfied.

With one phone call, Threatte solved his issue.

“I called the local Salvation Army asking if I could rent the gym,” Threatte said. “They got back and asked me to come down for a meeting.”

In that meeting, Threatte brought with him a brochure that explained everything he hoped to accomplish with his program. They later had a second meeting, and Threatte got some great news.

“We agreed upon various aspects, and they asked if I wouldn’t mind running the program through them,” Threatte said. “They liked the track record I had, trusted me to be able to lead them to a different avenue as well. We’re looking to grow together within the community.”

Threatte secured a space for the program during unfavorable weather but also scored a surprise bonus.

“They provided us use of their outside facilities as well,” Threatte said. “I can do different drills in the inside and run different field drills on the outside field. That will be a neat thing to have.”

The partnership is on a trial basis, based on how much of a turnout the program can generate. Threatte is confident Skillz and Drillz will have the numbers.

“I believe we can get a large number of kids to come out,” he said. “Once that happens, we will have a forever home at the Salvation Army.”

Threatte, a Personal Care Assistant (PCA) at Martin Elementary School, is proud of the program he’s started and says it’s great to see students in the school wearing Skillz and Drillz and NXT GEN shirts and jerseys.

“It’s great knowing that they really care about being a part of Skillz and Drillz or NXT GEN. I’m really passionate about it and I want to see these kids succeed,” Threatte said.

For Threatte, Skillz and Drillz is a program that can bring future success to New Ken-Arnold’s sports teams. He knows an investment by the community, like the support Fridays on Fifth receives, can be an immense help.

“Now is the time to invest in the kids,” Threatte said. “Just like Deer Lakes and Burrell invested in their kids and are winning WPIAL championships, we need to get on board as well with our kids.”

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