The Griffin Conway Memorial Scholarship was established in 2014 to honor and celebrate the life of Griffin Conway. Griffin Conway was a long-time Y-ball participant who promoted sportsmanship and teamwork not only with his teams, but in the overall league as well. As a Y-ball volunteer coach, Griffin mentored younger players, promoting sportsmanship, teamwork, and self-confidence, along with helping to foster a love for the game. On behalf of the Conway family, the New Canaan YMCA is honored to award this scholarship each year to one graduating New Canaan High School Senior that has demonstrated leadership and passion for the New Canaan YMCA Basketball League. The Y is thrilled to announce this year’s scholarship recipient is Finn Stanley.

Stanley not only participated in the Y-ball league as a player from elementary school throughout high school and as a volunteer coach, but also embodies the YMCA core values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility. His positive experiences while growing up as a Y-ball participant led him to become a volunteer coach in high school. Stanley shared, “When I was in 7th grade, my Y-ball coaches were college kids. They told me how much Y-ball meant to them as players and this was their way of giving back. I knew I wanted to do the same thing. So when I was a sophomore, I signed up to coach my brother’s 7th-8th grade team and enlisted two friends to coach with me as well.” He added, “My amazing experiences both as a player and a coach in the Y-ball program have given me the confidence and character to succeed at the next level.”

Y-ball parent, William Timlen, shared, “I was very impressed with how responsibly Finn managed the team and communicated with the players and their parents. Finn consistently promoted sportsmanship and teamwork and did a great job making sure all players had the opportunity to contribute.” He added, “Finn is unquestionably a young leader in the New Canaan community. He seeks out opportunities to lead and to mentor.”

Stanley will be continuing his education at Providence College where he will study business. Bringing his passion for basketball in the next chapter of his career, he hopes to attend Friars basketball games and play on an intramural basketball team.

To learn more about the Y-ball youth recreational basketball league, contact Davie Cedela at 203-920-1641 or [email protected].