By Kate Spinosa
Staff Writer

Rec Basketball is an extremely popular winter sport. In town tons of kids sign up each year to play. The rules and regulations of rec basketball are the same as any other game of basketball.

At www.westfordhoops.com they have a chart of recent game results for each grade level, and even calendar print-outs of each team’s schedule.

Rec basketball gives any kid the opportunity to practice and play on a team against friends. Each team is given a different color jersey and number, and most of the team names have to do with this color.

Lisa Vallone has been a dedicated rec basketball player since third grade. After watching basketball games on TV, and playing with friends she decided to play rec.

Vallone has once a week games and practices on her own time outside when the weather is nice. Her favorite thing to do is play with friends and not just alone. The choice of rec over school came when she decided she did not want to play too intensely because she did not have enough time to practice that hard.

Rec basketball has everyone practice together first then teams are chosen in order to even the playing level out. So that one team is not way better than another. Vallone does not really mind when she is not placed on a team with her friends because she knows she will play them in a game eventually.

Rec basketball is less intense and anyone can play without getting cut from the team. It is less of a commitment than a school team. The practices are limited to once a week and weekly games.

“It is fun to play against my friends not too competitively but we still try,” said Valone.

Vallone’s favorite memory of rec basketball came when she was chosen for the all-stars team in seventh grade. This is a side team that you play along with your normal rec ball team. The team is made up of one deserving player from each individual team that coaches nominate.

Another wonderful memory she has of rec ball was during freshman year when she scored a winning basket in double overtime. She says she will never forget doing that and always hopes to do that again.

Her team this year is not off to the best start with their 0-4 record but are hoping to improve. The team includes no seniors so Vallone is the oldest one on it. She is number 10 and her team is violet. Her coach is Mr. Templeton. Vallone plans to continue playing basketball throughout senior year but then stopping after that and not continuing into college.

Vallone’s favorite things that she used to do at practices were the quick drills. She liked practicing shooting and running quickly. From starting in third grade to now being a junior she feels that she has improved greatly from these practices.

Winning is important but is not what counts to Vallone. She likes being able to play against friends and not take it too seriously. Winning used to matter more when she was younger but as she got older it was more about just having fun.

Along with playing rec basketball, Vallone also coached it for two years. She and one other person coached girls third through fifth grade rec basketball.

“Coaching basketball was so fun because I really enjoy helping kids improve their skills, and it was a nice change to watch and help rather than myself playing,” said Valone.