You could say, it’s not summer unless the Lynn Parks and Recreation Basketball Summer Evening League is in action.
The summer league is back for another year and just completed its first of four weeks. It’s for boys and girls who are in elementary, middle, and high school to play basketball across East and West Lynn.
“Historically, it’s been six weeks, but this year, we did four because of Pop Warner. We wanted to shorten it to give kids the opportunity to do both,” said Director Geanni Byrd.
Despite the strong turnout among middle and high school athletes, they are falling a bit short regarding elementary school numbers, according to Byrd.
“For West Lynn, we have a pretty good turnout for middle and high school, and the same with East Lynn. In grammar school, we seem to be falling a little short,” Byrd said. “Unfortunately, we haven’t had any grammar school games in East Lynn, and in West Lynn, we were able to have two, but not full roster teams, which is a little disappointing. … I try to tell as many people as I can to get their kids down. It’s a free program and it gives kids something to do.”
That said, Byrd touched upon how the program has seen numbers fluctuate from year to year.
“It comes in waves. Some years, it’s full and you see the talent pool go up, and then there’s years when you see it go down,” she said. “The biggest thing for me is giving the kids something to do in a safe space – to play and learn the game.”
Despite the never-ending heat wave – so it seems – Byrd has started to provide water on hot days, something the program hasn’t done previously.
“I started taking donations for water. Historically, we haven’t provided any water when it’s been super hot, so I try to get the local counselors and people that are in the community [and] local businesses to donate water to the program,” Byrd said.
“I initially started by personally buying water and bringing my cooler and filling it with ice. Then, I started to ask the community, and people have been dropping water off,” she added. “It has been really cool for the kids to see people in the community come and be part of it. It shows the kids the type of community Lynn is.”
What also makes this league special, is that Byrd and the rest of the staff try to get referees who are willing to help players get better.
“We always try to get refs who not only know the game, but can also teach the game. Whether it’s explaining calls, encouraging the kids not to travel or double dribble, stuff like that,” she said.
Last but not least, Byrd said she’s thankful for her volunteer coaches. Some coaches have kids who are playing, while others are doing it just to make sure Lynn kids have a coach.
And as a director within the league, Byrd has seen a lot of players get better.
“We have parents volunteer to coach teams. Some of the parents aren’t even coaching their own kid, which is amazing,” Byrd said. “Seeing the progression of kids throughout the years is amazing.”
For any kid who wants to join, it’s a free program and all they have to do is arrive 15 minutes before starting time. Grammar school starts at 5 p.m. with middle school at 6 p.m. and high school at 7 p.m.
The program is going on for three more weeks with the championship game set for July 31 at Marshall Middle School.
For more information, go to https://lynnma.myrec.com/info/activities/program_details.aspx?ProgramID=29888.
