In small towns with monetary concerns, football is usually a non-issue. Soccer and basketball are where its at, all you need is the space, and Westport has got it! And basketball, my friends, is a long-lost love of mine, lately returned.
My fourth grader is playing in his first ‘real’ season, and his first competitive games, and happens to be on a team with skilled older boys and a wonderfully patient ( at least from the bleacher perspective) and knowledgeable coach Brian P. Sitting in the bleachers in the not-long-for-this-world Middle School, the echoes of my own past and that of my family’s are loud and wonderful. My dad was a high-school player, as well as a college player, and a lifelong devotee of the Celtics. My memories of the eighties are not complete without flashes of kelly green and some magic of Larry Bird.
What is now lost in the NBA, or seen only rarely, abounds when watching young kids learning the fundamentals. Passing! Teamwork! Leadership! Flow! Love of the Key! Rebounds! Fear of the Key! Sportsmanship! Coaches who choose NOT to run up the scores just because they can?! Unbelievable!!
The earnestness with which the youngest play is thrilling and reminds me of all that is good in the world, and especially in our small towns. Our community schools and their sports are just incredible. Echoing bounces, backboard bangs, cheering fans… all we are missing is Cousy.
the season is winding down, but boys and girls play in the elementary years through high school . . . the boys at WBBL… the girls at Westport Recreational League, and high school schedules can be found at the High School’s website. or at miaa…
Come see for yourself!
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