A Portage Life in the Spotlight: Cory McKim

For Portage Youth Basketball president Cory McKim, teaching kids about the love of the game is a very big part of his life. As this week’s Portage Life in the Spotlight, he shows his dedication to his city by helping to inspire its children.

PYB offers a wonderful opportunity for Pre-K to sixth grade students to learn to play basketball close to home. Practices are held at Portage schools, with all games played at Fegley Middle School.

“It’s something that’s been around for a very long time,” McKim said. “It’s a very good organization; we’re just trying to make it great.”

For McKim, youth basketball is less about success and more about taking the kids and teaching them about the sport. He wants to be there for the players, teaching them fundamentals and improving skill levels alongside coaches that share his ideals. Through PYB, he hopes that these children will benefit Portage as both basketball players and as citizens. It’s about showing kids they can “have so much fun they want to come back and play another year.”

Although it’s only McKim’s first year being involved with the PYB board, he has already been chosen as the League’s president. His position requires him to oversee the entire organization, helping with sign-ups, uniform distribution, and making sure each team has a sponsor. McKim says the board has been very helpful when he needs assistance.

“The amount of people who are willing to help have been welcoming and very much appreciated,” McKim said.

As president, his major goal is to expand the program by restarting a tournament that incorporates teams from other communities. Although McKim never got a chance to play in the tournament, he watched his younger brother play. McKim believes the tournament could serve as a staple of Portage basketball, as people will travel to Portage instead of places such as the Courts. He hopes to get the tournament up and running within the next few years.

Outside of PYB, McKim coaches junior varsity basketball for Portage High School. He has been coaching junior varsity for four years at Michigan City and Portage, as well as spending two years as a varsity assistant.

His involvement with both younger and older basketball players has really shown him the differences in teaching styles. The lower levels are more for fundamentals. With his high school athletes, he focuses on fine-tuning skills instead of teaching the basics, which players should know by the time they make JV.

“My number one goal is to get them where they can be ready for varsity,” McKim said.

His other public involvement in Portage is his Physical Education job at Fegley Middle School, where he continues his trend of introducing kids to the world of sports.

Along with McKim, his family remains very active in Portage’s community. This family consists of his wife, Kristina, who works as a lab technician at Porter Hospital; Zach, a third grade student at Crisman Elementary; and Katie, who is in the first grade at Crisman.

When he isn’t busy coaching basketball, McKim can be found taking his kids to various sports practices such as soccer and gymnastics, cheering for the Purdue football team with his season tickets, or taking his family on a summer vacation to anywhere from a water park to Disney World.