Commack Boy Wins 2nd In LI Spring Sports Heroes Challenge: 'I Was Honored'

COMMACK, NY — A Commack boy won second place in the 2023 L.I. Spring Sports Heroes Community Service Challenge.

Harold Teller, 13, raised $8,000 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention by organizing Hoops for Hope, a charity basketball tournament.

The island-wide challenge was organized by the W20 Foundation’s Team Up 4 Community Program. Teller said he was "honored" when he heard he won second place.

"It feels great," he told Patch.

The Tellers found out about Harold's accomplishment when Daria Teller, Harold's mother, got a call from Commack Middle School.

Teresa Webb, executive director of non-profit TeamUp4Community.org, saw news of Harold's tournament and called the school. The school directed Webb to the Teller family.

"It was really nice," Daria Teller said. "[Webb] had to do some digging just to find out who [Harold] was and how to reach him."

Suicide, Teller said, is a big problem in the United States. Teller wanted to share some advice to those who may be struggling with their mental health or depression.

"I would say to talk to your peers and do stuff that makes you feel happy," he said. "Use that. Hang out with friends more. Take a step back and enjoy life."

More than 100 kids participated in the charity basketball tournament across several hours. Teller thought of the idea in August 2022 when he wrote an essay for the Honor Society about what he could do in the community. He asked Michael Rossetti, owner of the basketball clinic, if he could help organize the tournament.

Teller, who loves to play basketball in tournaments and travel leagues, said he thought a tournament was a great way to bring people together. He said bullying is the biggest cause of depression, especially among young people.

Teller plans to help out a cancer foundation next, possibly through another tournament.

The Town of Huntington recently held a renal support event for Jonas Wagner, a Dix Hills family man who is on dialysis. Thirty people were swabbed at the event. Teller was there in support of his friend, Michael, who is Wagner's son.