Students in the basketball game. Photo by Luella Harding.
By far, one of the most popular sports played, basketball is a competitive and exciting sport, a sport played all over the world.
Basketball is one of the most important winter sports at Malden High School; home games are always a big hit and attract a large crowd of high school and middle school students. Many look forward to playing when they get to high school, but is there a way that we can warm up future players earlier on?
The Malden Public Schools Inner City Basketball League allows for middle school students, grades 6-8, who will be attending high school within the next few years, to have some early on experience in the sport of basketball. In this league, young players have the opportunity to learn the game and develop teamwork skills that will allow them to mentally connect better on the court.
This league provides two teams, one for boys, and one for girls.
Girls’ basketball coach, Yasmine Alayan, a member of The Blue and Gold, states that “[she is] looking forward to seeing what students have to offer compared to last year when we were dealing with a completely different group of students, all of which brought different talents to the team.”
Students join this program to learn the sport, but what they learn does not get to in depth into all of the aspects of basketball. Alayan states “[she likes] to see what [players] already know, but it is important to focus on the basics. [Players] need to know how to dribble, pass, and shoot to be able to play basketball.”
Being a basketball player herself, and having to perform and complete strenuous drills, Alayan says “[players] are still learning, but [they] have to start somewhere. So sometimes trying to get them to understand and complete the drills [Alayan teaches] them can be difficult, considering they don’t all have a wide range of basketball vocabulary. But they do have a couple of drills down, so [she likes] to make those drills more intense for them to improve their skills.”
Many of Malden High’s best players, past and present, have all had to start somewhere. Not everyone is born with skill. It is important to get a head start, especially to be able to make goals for yourself and to gain skill, to try and overcome what you already know.
Alayan has some goals for her team as well, she indicates “[she would] like them to have more fun with the game itself. Lots of the players take it too seriously, it is supposed to be fun not torture.”
Through the efforts of fellow teammates and coaches, this league is a great way for young players to be able to open their eyes to basketball, regardless of whether they have any prior knowledge.
