08-09-2018, 02:49 PM
From the DeKalb Midweek. Worth the read:
By KATRINA J.E. MILTON
DeKalb – Daron Brown’s motto is “Every. Move. Matters.,” words he uses to describe life and the game of chess.
Brown, who grew up in Detroit, started playing chess in the third grade. He played chess, basketball and football in high school and received a full scholarship to play football at Northern Illinois University. After graduating NIU in fall 2016 with a degree in corporate communications, Brown wanted to create a community program for local youth.
Brown is the club president of the King’s Table Mentoring Program, held 3 to 5 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays at the DeKalb Public Library, 309 Oak St.
The mission of King’s Table is to promote and provide life skills, education and all-around success through chess, mentorship and tutoring to children ages nine to 14.
Every day the group meets, Brown not only teaches the children how to play chess, he also acts as a role model and brings them lunch, paying out of his own pocket. When the school year starts, Brown will help tutor, as well.
Brown met with MidWeek reporter Katrina Milton to discuss the King’s Table Mentoring Program, the importance of youth playing chess and his goals for the future.
Milton: Can you tell me more about the King’s Table program?
Brown: It’s much more than a chess club, it’s a mentoring program. I hope to one day create a nonprofit organization. My goal is to promote and provide life skills, education and all-around success through chess, mentorship and tutoring. We meet for two hours every Thursday and Friday, but we play chess for about an hour each day. The rest of the time, we socialize and talk about life. When school starts up again, I’ll help them with homework. When we meet, I bring in food for them like pizza, chicken and tacos. I do it out of pocket, I pay for it myself. We’d love to have some sponsors or donations.
Milton: What are some of your ideas and plans for the program?
Brown: I have so many ideas for the future. I’ve reached out to the NIU football team, I’d like to take them to the Hopkins Park pool, things of that sort. The program is year-round, so I’m committed fully to it. It’s not just a summertime thing. I want the kids to stay on the straight and narrow and put them on a good path, a better path. I hope to get the kids ready for the national tournament in November in Schaumburg. It’s just been an amazing few months. They’re so excited and enthusiastic about chess, and they really have a joy for it. They want to learn, they want to succeed. They’re all really good kids.
Milton: Can you tell me more about yourself?
Brown: I came from a rough background in Detroit, and I’ve seen a lot as far as kids having no guidance. I want to be that guidance. Luckily, I had both of my parents and the support of my five brothers and one sister. We are all very close. I graduated from NIU the fall of 2016 with a degree in corporate communications. This program is something I do on the side because I know how important it is. I have a full-time job as an assistant store manager at Mattress Firm in Rockford.
Milton: Who were some of your role models growing up?
Brown: I was fortunate to have several people in my life that helped guide me along the way, including my family and coaches that I will never forget, coaches like Kevin Fite, Jimmy Hill, Robert Lynch and Julian Carter. They always believed in me. They believed in me before I believed in myself. It’s guys like them that made me realize how important it is to give back.
Milton: When did you first learn how to play chess?
Brown: I first started playing chess in the third grade. My older brother played, and I wanted to be just like him. So I decided to start playing in the third grade and I got a coach. Sometimes I would even not play basketball just so I could go and play chess. Then I went to a school with advanced classes. They took chess more serious there and their team was really good and competitive. At first, I thought playing ball, football or basketball, would get me out of Detroit. Chess really impacted my life, even from an early age. As I got older, my high school didn’t have a chess team, but I was able to compete individually with schools that did have it.
Milton: Have you competed in tournaments?
Brown: Chess took me to national, local and state tournaments. I’ve been to more than 100 tournaments, traveling all over: Florida, California, Arizona, Tennessee, Kentucky, Pennsylvania. We even went to Disney World and go-kart racing. It wasn’t just chess 100 percent of the time, we always had a lot of fun as a team. Through the years, I’ve been in the top 25 at national tournaments four or five times.
Milton: Why did you continue with chess?
Brown: At first, I learned chess because I wanted to be like my brother. I stuck with it because it’s a lot of fun. Chess teaches patience and critical thinking. It’s a thinking game, you have to focus and think. My slogan is “Every. Move. Matters.” That slogan is in life and in chess. Every consequence has a reaction, there’s always an effect for your cause. Every piece, every move matters. Every piece is just as valuable. Even a pawn can become a queen. There’s also a life lesson in chess, they say it’s the game of war.
Milton: Why chess?
Brown: I played football at NIU and basketball growing up. Chess challenges you in a different way, not physically but mentally. It mentally challenges you and prepares you for a lot of things. Usually if you’re good at chess, you’re also good at school. The game of chess hasn’t changed, but kids are getting better when they’re younger. No joke, I had a 7-year-old beat me at a national tournament. … But it’s never too late to start playing chess. You can’t pick up a football at 42, but you can for sure pick up a chess piece. Some people, some kids, are just naturals.
Milton: How did you start the program?
Brown: I started at Clinton Rosette Middle School here in DeKalb. The principal there, Tim Vincent, gave me some sets and helped me start the program. I asked the DeKalb Public Library for a space to meet. I’d really like to thank the library for help in making the program progress. I started in early June with two kids, and now we always have more than 15 kids every day. My vision is to have 100 kids in the program. I know that sounds really crazy, but I’d love to get them all involved and really impact the community.
For information about the program, contact Brown at 248-227-4739 or daronbrown1994@gmail.com
Follow the King’s Table Mentoring Program on Twitter @KingsTableDKLB or donate to the program’s Go Fund Me page at http://www.gofundme.com/5vn814w.
By KATRINA J.E. MILTON
DeKalb – Daron Brown’s motto is “Every. Move. Matters.,” words he uses to describe life and the game of chess.
Brown, who grew up in Detroit, started playing chess in the third grade. He played chess, basketball and football in high school and received a full scholarship to play football at Northern Illinois University. After graduating NIU in fall 2016 with a degree in corporate communications, Brown wanted to create a community program for local youth.
Brown is the club president of the King’s Table Mentoring Program, held 3 to 5 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays at the DeKalb Public Library, 309 Oak St.
The mission of King’s Table is to promote and provide life skills, education and all-around success through chess, mentorship and tutoring to children ages nine to 14.
Every day the group meets, Brown not only teaches the children how to play chess, he also acts as a role model and brings them lunch, paying out of his own pocket. When the school year starts, Brown will help tutor, as well.
Brown met with MidWeek reporter Katrina Milton to discuss the King’s Table Mentoring Program, the importance of youth playing chess and his goals for the future.
Milton: Can you tell me more about the King’s Table program?
Brown: It’s much more than a chess club, it’s a mentoring program. I hope to one day create a nonprofit organization. My goal is to promote and provide life skills, education and all-around success through chess, mentorship and tutoring. We meet for two hours every Thursday and Friday, but we play chess for about an hour each day. The rest of the time, we socialize and talk about life. When school starts up again, I’ll help them with homework. When we meet, I bring in food for them like pizza, chicken and tacos. I do it out of pocket, I pay for it myself. We’d love to have some sponsors or donations.
Milton: What are some of your ideas and plans for the program?
Brown: I have so many ideas for the future. I’ve reached out to the NIU football team, I’d like to take them to the Hopkins Park pool, things of that sort. The program is year-round, so I’m committed fully to it. It’s not just a summertime thing. I want the kids to stay on the straight and narrow and put them on a good path, a better path. I hope to get the kids ready for the national tournament in November in Schaumburg. It’s just been an amazing few months. They’re so excited and enthusiastic about chess, and they really have a joy for it. They want to learn, they want to succeed. They’re all really good kids.
Milton: Can you tell me more about yourself?
Brown: I came from a rough background in Detroit, and I’ve seen a lot as far as kids having no guidance. I want to be that guidance. Luckily, I had both of my parents and the support of my five brothers and one sister. We are all very close. I graduated from NIU the fall of 2016 with a degree in corporate communications. This program is something I do on the side because I know how important it is. I have a full-time job as an assistant store manager at Mattress Firm in Rockford.
Milton: Who were some of your role models growing up?
Brown: I was fortunate to have several people in my life that helped guide me along the way, including my family and coaches that I will never forget, coaches like Kevin Fite, Jimmy Hill, Robert Lynch and Julian Carter. They always believed in me. They believed in me before I believed in myself. It’s guys like them that made me realize how important it is to give back.
Milton: When did you first learn how to play chess?
Brown: I first started playing chess in the third grade. My older brother played, and I wanted to be just like him. So I decided to start playing in the third grade and I got a coach. Sometimes I would even not play basketball just so I could go and play chess. Then I went to a school with advanced classes. They took chess more serious there and their team was really good and competitive. At first, I thought playing ball, football or basketball, would get me out of Detroit. Chess really impacted my life, even from an early age. As I got older, my high school didn’t have a chess team, but I was able to compete individually with schools that did have it.
Milton: Have you competed in tournaments?
Brown: Chess took me to national, local and state tournaments. I’ve been to more than 100 tournaments, traveling all over: Florida, California, Arizona, Tennessee, Kentucky, Pennsylvania. We even went to Disney World and go-kart racing. It wasn’t just chess 100 percent of the time, we always had a lot of fun as a team. Through the years, I’ve been in the top 25 at national tournaments four or five times.
Milton: Why did you continue with chess?
Brown: At first, I learned chess because I wanted to be like my brother. I stuck with it because it’s a lot of fun. Chess teaches patience and critical thinking. It’s a thinking game, you have to focus and think. My slogan is “Every. Move. Matters.” That slogan is in life and in chess. Every consequence has a reaction, there’s always an effect for your cause. Every piece, every move matters. Every piece is just as valuable. Even a pawn can become a queen. There’s also a life lesson in chess, they say it’s the game of war.
Milton: Why chess?
Brown: I played football at NIU and basketball growing up. Chess challenges you in a different way, not physically but mentally. It mentally challenges you and prepares you for a lot of things. Usually if you’re good at chess, you’re also good at school. The game of chess hasn’t changed, but kids are getting better when they’re younger. No joke, I had a 7-year-old beat me at a national tournament. … But it’s never too late to start playing chess. You can’t pick up a football at 42, but you can for sure pick up a chess piece. Some people, some kids, are just naturals.
Milton: How did you start the program?
Brown: I started at Clinton Rosette Middle School here in DeKalb. The principal there, Tim Vincent, gave me some sets and helped me start the program. I asked the DeKalb Public Library for a space to meet. I’d really like to thank the library for help in making the program progress. I started in early June with two kids, and now we always have more than 15 kids every day. My vision is to have 100 kids in the program. I know that sounds really crazy, but I’d love to get them all involved and really impact the community.
For information about the program, contact Brown at 248-227-4739 or daronbrown1994@gmail.com
Follow the King’s Table Mentoring Program on Twitter @KingsTableDKLB or donate to the program’s Go Fund Me page at http://www.gofundme.com/5vn814w.