The Y: We’re for Youth Development, Healthy Living, and Social Responsibility.
TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT
Did you know basketball was invented in 1891 at the Y? While teaching at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, MA, James Naismith was given the challenge of creating a game that could be played indoors during the cold winter months. Hanging simple peach baskets and using a soccer ball, Naismith created the game of basketball and wrote the first 13 rules of the game. At the Y, our youth basketball leagues are designed to develop fundamental basketball skills while teaching teamwork, strategy, sportsmanship, and discipline.
Young athletes develop social skills from an early age by learning how to work in a team atmosphere, pay attention to others, and respond accordingly. An athlete needs discipline to attend practices and pay attention to the rules of any game.
Between bouts of running, jumping, dribbling, and bouts of rests, kids build endurance by participating in total body interval training without even realizing it. Interval training boosts aerobic capacity, energy levels, and metabolism, which in turn helps kids concentrate more in school.
Basketball requires upper body coordination, total body coordination, and hand-eye coordination. Dribbling, catching, passing, and making baskets require planning, precision, and quick reactions. Walking backwards, turning, or running while dribbling a ball and at the same time paying attention to other players is a challenging but interesting exercise for coordination and body awareness. Ball sports such as basketball are great for reinforcing kids’ balance reactions and balance strategies and prevent future injury.
We offer CYC Basketball at our Pittsfield branch and Youth Basketball at our Northern Berkshire branch during Fall/Early Winter.
