The game of basketball can be brutal. Broken bones and blood are sometimes the result. Although it can be a savage, many students enjoy the game. LHS just finished girls and boys freshman, JV, and Varsity seasons.

Each team has enough jerseys to suit up 15 players. At any time, that leaves 10 players on the bench, while the five are on the court. The best players play as much as possible, but if playing was evenly distributed to all players, at most they would play about 2 minutes each.

According to Athletic Director Sonny Joseph, the three boys’ teams have a combined four dozen players try out. Generally, the teams take between 10 and 12 players but in the unlikely event that all three teams keep 15 players, only ten people will be cut.

For those who don’t make the high school team or choose not to tryout, there is the recreational alternative.

The Monocacy Youth Basketball Association (MYBA) rules from Taneytown to Urbana. This basketball program was created for children from eight to nineteen to play the game they love.

Joe Parisi, President of the MYBA, said, “We provide rec programs for high school students because not every student makes the high school teams and we want to make sure there is another place for them to play.”

Throughout the MYBA Program, there are over 282 teams. This puts the scheduling of 141 games every weekend on a small group of volunteers. Parisi said it takes about four hours to schedule one weekend of games.

As Athletic Director, Joseph has to schedule every game for every LHS team. He has to work with other school’s Athletic Directors to schedule with them.

There are many differences between high school and recreational basketball. High school practices six days a week while recreational teams are lucky if they can get one practice a week. High school teams generally have more experienced players while recreational teams could have players who have never touched a basketball in their lives.

The officials for both teams are also different. If you can pass the examination, you can be a referee for recreational basketball. Joseph said, “Most rec referees are gaining experience to become referees at the next level.”

High school officials must be a member in a good standing with a local MPSSAA recognized official’s association, attend a MPSSAA-sponsored rules interpretation clinic for the current year, pass the National Federation written rules examination, and pay the MPSSAA registration fee. Typically they have years of refereeing and basketball experience.

Junior Avery Eddins currently plays for a recreational team in the MYBA program. Eddins says, “It is so much fun. It is not so serious or professional, which makes it possible for more teams full of people who just want to play for the fun.”

Although the recreational game is just for fun, a lot of players who play at the high school age group lack the discipline of a school-sponsored team. “My teammate had just passed the ball to our point guard when a girl on the other team ran up behind her and dug her fingernails into her arm until she bled,” said Eddins.

If this were to happen at a high school basketball game, the player would have had an intentional foul at the beginning of the offense. The referees would not have allowed the situation to escalate.

Although both recreational and high school teams share the love of the game, high school basketball provides more opportunities for a basketball future. College scouts do not attend recreational basketball.  Both Parisi and Joseph agree that if a player has the ability to play for at the high school level, they should. Making any varsity team is a great honor and the player should feel a great sense of pride.