Recreation leagues have been around for many years, but rec league basketball has become more popular in the last few years due to the Fieldhouse opening, and new leagues being created. Luckily for some of the boys at Southeast of Saline, rec league is a great opportunity for those who don’t necessarily love the high-stakes competition of regular league sports and prefer to play for fun under less pressure.

Since the beginning of the regular basketball season, many students around the school have been hearing about a rec league team and how excited all of the boys are to play. Every one of the boys that are suiting up to play has had at least a little bit of experience playing basketball before, so it isn’t like anyone is going to need extreme levels of coaching in order to play. 

Even though these boys might not need a lot of coaching, they are still going to have it. Three players from the SES boy’s basketball team are very invested in coaching this rec team since they can’t play. This group of recreation league players call themselves, “The Grizzlies.” We took some time to ask the coaches some questions to see where they were at on game plans and overall expectations for the season. Senior Coach, Kayson Lilley said, “Our game plan is to keep it simple, but we would like to have a few plays ready just in case.” Kayson is the play coach, whereas Junior Coach, Connor Caselman, is the subbing coach. Connor added that “Our team will do best when they play together.  feel that they have the skills to be good, but they have selfish tendencies, which have been their biggest opponent at times.”

Along with the three Southeast players; Nathan Friesen, Joel Huffaker, and Omar Calzada, and the three Southeast coaches; Connor Caselman, Kayson Lilley, and Kirby Davis, there are five players from surrounding schools such as South and Central. “There are a few players from the other schools that may have a little trouble controlling their emotions,” Connor added. The first game of the season was a piece of cake for the Grizzlies, beating the Sacred Heart Timberwolves 46-36. 

While the first game was a breeze, the second game against the Salina Central Heat caused emotions to rise between players. During this game, two technicals were given, one to each team, there were also multiple flops, and pushes to the back. Teams were disqualified, and the game was called 30 seconds early. “The referees might have called the game early and the disqualification might be a loss against us, but to the fans, and in our hearts, we won,” says Connor Caselman. The Grizzlies do not know if the disqualification was meant for the whole season or for one game, but they hope to be back in action this Sunday, and they hope to see you there.