Whether you’re reading this Tuesday (lucky!) or Wednesday, the same is true: the NBA season is upon us.
That’s right, basketball is back after taking a long summer off. This means it’s time to put away the cleats and break out the high-tops. Mesh tank tops replace traditional, non-mesh clothing in the wardrobe.
And once you’re all geared up, all you need is a place to play.
Concord has you covered.
The Boys & Girls Club is new to the men’s basketball scene in Concord, but it’s already a big player. The league started last winter with eight teams, and they’re already up to 28, thanks in part to sort of merging with a league that used to play on Green Street, said Tim Sprague, athletic director at the Boys & Girls Club.
“We sat down and went over all the specifics about it and pretty much . . . I think most of the teams, if not all of the teams, are playing here,” Sprague said of bringing the Greet Street teams to the Boys & Girls Club.
Basketball had been played for decades at Green Street until last year, when the organizer walked away from it. The program had been run independent from the city, and when the organizer didn’t come back, the city tried to keep it going but not enough teams signed up.
Tony Moore, who long worked the scoreboard and refereed at Green Street, got in touch with Sprague and said there were guys looking to play who didn’t have a league anymore. (Green Street still hosts pickup ball at lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but the formal league is inactive.) Sprague just so happened to have a new league looking for more participants, and so a new bond was formed.
The net result is just more basketball for everyone, and who could complain about that?
At the Boys & Girls Club, you can choose between four divisions: A, B, C or 35 and up. The A, B and C divisions are open to anyone 18 and older, and they offer different levels of competition, with A being the most competitive. The 35-plus division is open to anyone at least 35 years old. And it’s okay if you want to play in both the 35-plus division and either an A, B or C division. If you can handle it, go for it.
There are no tryouts or any other forms of selection to determine which division to play in, Sprague said. “When teams register, they kind of know the caliber of their team,” he said. “If they have a team where they know that they’re all 20, 22-year-old kids, 25-year-old kids, and they played college ball or were really good in high school, they’ll put themselves in the A.
“And most of these teams have been playing for a while, whether it be here or there, so they kind of know where they belong,” he added.
There’s quite an age range throughout the league, Sprague said. “In the A, B and C divisions, it’s usually 18 to, I would say there are some guys in their late 40s, maybe early 50s,” he said. “I know in the over 35 there are some guys in their early 60s, mid-60s, that can still compete.”
Teams have anywhere from five to 15 players, with most rosters hovering around eight to 10 guys. Rules require at least four rostered team members to be present at the start of game time – if there are only four, and if the other teams agrees – teams are welcome to grab anyone they want to fill out the roster. If you only get three people to show up, it goes down as a forfeit and a scrimmage may be played if both teams want.
The 35-plus league plays Monday and Wednesday nights, and the A, B and C divisions play all day Sunday – games go from 9 a.m. to after 6 p.m.
At $900 per team, it might seem expensive at first glance. “Can’t I just play for free out in the street?” you’re probably wondering. Yes, you can, but it’s just not as good.
That money goes into keeping the lights and heat on at the Boys & Girls Club (amenities most outdoor courts don’t offer), keeping the gym in top form and keeping the website (leaguelineup.com/concordmensbball) up and running.
On the website, which is updated after every game, teams can check their schedule, record, standings, game results, rules and more. The website is a feature not many leagues have, and “the guys love it,” Sprague said.
Any money left over after covering the basketball-related expenses goes back into the Boys & Girls Club, Sprague said.
And whether you’re in the A, B, C or 35-plus division, playing morning, noon or night, the competition is always pretty stout, Sprague said.
“It’s very competitive,” he said. “We have some blowouts here and there, but for the most part, the games are really, really competitive in each division.”
He wasn’t kidding. Things got pretty heated at a 35-plus game last week between Reardon Builders/Craigue & Sons and Up2U Fitness, a back-and-forth, rough-and-tumble, high-scoring matchup.
Though both teams seemed overall friendly and easygoing, it was very obvious that nobody wanted to walk out of there a sweaty loser. As Sprague mentioned, a lot of players know each other from playing over the years, and reputations and respect are always on the line.
At one point, a player on Up2U was unhappy with a call – and he let the referee know about it. The ref, in turn, let the player know that he didn’t appreciate that and issued a technical foul. When the player took issue with the technical, he was hit with another one, ending his night. Many bad words were uttered by all, and ones that can’t be printed here.
In the end, though, no blood was spilled and everybody – except the guy with the two technicals – kept on playing.
And that’s pretty much what goes on at the Boys & Girls Club men’s basketball program.
Guys get together for an hour or so and talk about sports, work, life. They run around and get a workout. They crack jokes. Sometimes they get fired up and yell at each other. Sometimes they calm each other down.
Either way, it’s all in good fun.
If you want to know more about the league, check out leaguelineup.com/concordmensbball, call the Boys & Girls Club at 224-1061 or go to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Concord’s Facebook page.