BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Can Bradford High School find success on the basketball court with teams composed of players who’ve never played organized ball until getting to middle school? Sure, but could success be more likely or even greater if players developed skills before seventh grade?
That’s the hope that BHS coaches have with the creation this year of a spring league.
“That was our biggest thing when we all sat down to talk about it,” said D.J. Mackey, who’s a BHS boys basketball coach. “It can help us tremendously when the kids get to high school and even to middle school. Most of these kids are going to have some type of experience with organized basketball. It’ll help the middle-school and the high-school programs — girls and boys.
The league, which is in its sixth week (out of eight total), consists of boys and girls in three divisions: first-second grade, third-fourth grade and fifth-sixth grade. Sampson Jackson, the head girls basketball coach for BHS and the school district’s athletic director, said an average of 30 have been participating in each division.
“It’s going really good,” Jackson said.
Jackson, who was the BHS boys head coach when the Tornadoes won the state championship in 2022, said the spring league has a benefit over the summer camp he hosted in the past.
“They get up to about two hours of practice a week (in the spring league),” Jackson said. “It’s a little more in depth and longer than a weeklong camp or something like that.”
Practices are held during the week, with games being played Saturday mornings.
On game days, you can see Jackson walking up and down the court, providing explanations — especially to the younger children — of any violations the players are committing. The games will stop to allow for teaching moments from Jackson and the other participating coaches.
“Most of these kids — when we first started — had no idea what a travel or a double dribble was,” Mackey said. “Now, as time has gone by, and we’ve been getting a little bit of work in, everybody’s picking up more on the rules.”
Jackson said another benefit of the league is that it brings together children from all three of the Bradford County School District’s elementary schools. It fosters a familiarity among children who may become teammates one day at Bradford Middle School.
However, it’s not just a basketball benefit. Jackson said new friendships can be created that a lot of times wouldn’t be possible until the children reach middle school.
Taking a broader view of the league, Mackey said it’s not just creating good basketball players. Some children may not play basketball in middle school or high school, but if they do play a sport, their participation in the league will help them be a better teammate, Mackey said.
Mackey added that learning to be a good teammate can help a child grow into becoming a better person as an adult.
For now, though, it’s all about teaching basketball fundamentals and giving the youth something fun to do.
“Every time I look up, and those kids are smiling and having fun, it’s worth the Saturday mornings and the extra four hours a week we’re putting on our plates,” Jackson said.
Since the league falls under the umbrella of Bradford Athletics, Jackson and current BHS coaches hope that it’s something that will continue when they’re no longer involved.
“Doing it through our athletic department has allowed us to create something — or still in the midst of creating something — that’s going to exist, whether we’re here or not,” Jackson said. “The hope is that the format of it continues past us.”
Mackey said that would be such a positive for the county’s youth.
“I think it’s going to be pretty good as far as the growth of basketball in our community,” Mackey said. “We haven’t really had any youth basketball in the last couple of years here.”
