Two Decades: Girls' Basketball Still Going Strong

Here is an article I wrote for a local website. View www.iberkshires.com for a little local flavor from New England and Berkshire County, Massachusetts.


"With accomplishments comes confidence and with confidence comes belief. It has to be in that order." – Mike Krzyzewski, head coach, Duke Blue Devils men's basketball.


NORTH ADAMS - With one of the greatest minds in college basketball, Coach K hits the nail right on the head. Here, his sentiments are being echoed through the North Adams Girls' Basketball League. Girls from North Adams, Williamstown, Stamford, Vt., Clarksburg and surrounding communities get the opportunity to not only play basketball, but to develop themselves socially and personally."The biggest strength I see is providing the youth with a positive experience in developing friendships, team-play concepts, sportsmanship and a passion to play the game of basketball," said Peter Lamarre, who sits on the league's board of directors. Lamarre also coaches the Junior Division and the fifth- and sixth-grade travel team.

The travel team is an "all star" team of sorts that plays teams outside the league. For almost 20 years, this league, created by Myles and Margaret Whitney and Rick Bush, has been molding girls into basketball players and strong, confident young ladies. Over the years, it has seen some fluctuation in numbers, which have gone down recently. With fewer girls signing up to play each year, the league opened its membership to Williamstown, which used to have its own league. This action, combined with the league's merger into the folds of the YMCA, has helped the numbers start to come back up.

The league consists of three divisions. The Instructional Division, which also lets boys play, consists of players from Grades 1 to 3. Girls in Grades 4 and 5 play in the Junior Division; the Senior Division is for sixth-through-eighth grade. Typically, the divisions contain between six and eight teams, depending on the level of participation. Lamarre said the biggest challenge he sees is keeping the interest high and getting enough girls each year to participate.

As with many youth sports, the basketball league's success is driven by the many volunteers who help in every aspect - from coaching to keeping score to setting up before games and practices. Glenn Boyer has been involved for 13 years in many capacities. He feels the league would not have enjoyed the success it has without those important volunteers. "The league is primarily run by parents lending a helping hand as volunteers to provide their children and others an opportunity to grow physically, as well as socially, in fun and rewarding environment," Boyer said. "As with any type of recreational program, the good and bad greatly depends on the number of these dedicated volunteers. Unfortunately, oftentimes it is these same people doing all of the work. In our league, we have had some very dedicated and quality people get involved through the years, and this is what I believe helps make our league a notch above the rest." Lamarre took those sentiments a step further: "What makes the league so successful is the continued support of some of the league's original founders. Guys like Myles Whitney, Jim Cunningham, and Glenn Boyer. These men no longer have children participating in the league yet remain loyal and helpful to the youth who play in the league." Cunningham, like Boyer, has had two daughters play in the league and has undertaken many different responsibilities, from refereeing to being league coordinator and even league president. You can still find him at almost every game working in some capacity.

Traditionally, the league has served as a steppingstone for girls who move on and play at the local high schools. "I think if you look at any successful high school sports program, you have to see a dedicated youth league feeding them players," said John Franzoni, Drury High athletic director and girls' basketball coach. "Our situation is no different here at Drury. The girls' basketball program is the beneficiary of all the hard work put in at the youth league level by dedicated volunteers like yourself, Glenn Boyer, Pete Lamarre, Jim Cunningham, the Whitneys, etc." He said the reason they are so successful is "there seems to be a strong connection between the youth league and our high school." For instance, members of the Drury squad run the tryouts every year for the youth league. There is also a mid-season clinic at the high school run by Franzoni and his players that the youth players can attend. Here they get tips from and run drills with the high school players.

"We are very grateful at Drury for all the hard work put in by all the people involved with the youth league. [They] truly are the building blocks of our success here," said Franzoni in recognizing the importance of the youth program.

The Senior Division plays on Wednesday nights at Conte Middle School in North Adams while the Junior Division plays on Tuesday nights. The Instructional Division uses the gym at the Northern Berkshire YMCA. Games typically are played between 5:30 and 8:30 p.m., except for the Instructional Division, which plays on Saturday afternoons.

Full disclosure: Brian Flagg has been coaching girls' basketball for 16 years. He's the part-time sports columnist for iBerkshires and also will be offering up regular pieces on local sports.