Competitive and free basketball attracts kids from around Somerville

By Jack Nicas

Go to the Mystic Avenue Projects on any Tuesday or Thursday night of the summer and you’ll barely find a soul. However, keep walking towards the rear of the development and you’ll soon find the absent residents.

An orange-jerseyed boy dribbles up the court, pointing and shouting directions to his teammates like a general in war; he couldn’t be a day over 11. Suddenly, a skinny, light-skinned arm, exposed by a freshly torn, sleeveless yellow jersey, pokes the ball out of the general’s control. The two race for the loose ball; the skinny arm reaches it first and guides it up to the basket for a smooth lay-up. The crowd applauds Mohammed Borus, the younger division’s league leader in points and rebounds, a 12-year-old star.

At 6:00 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday of July, the Mystic Learning Center Summer Basketball League tips off, uniting the neighborhood around two hours of fast-paced, competitive basketball at the city’s largest public housing complex.

Hugh Coleman, director of the league and former assistant coach of five-time state champion Charlestown High School, said it all began when former Charlestown head coach Jack O’Brien introduced him to Harry Dixon, one of O’Brien’s former players looking to give back to the area after a successful run in the computer industry.

Coleman and Dixon teamed up with Linda Kelly of the Somerville Learning Center and Florence “Fluffy” Bergman of the Mystic Learning Center to create the summer league in 2003.

“We first sat down and came up with a schedule,” Coleman said, “and then we knew we needed coaches, shirts, trophies, etc.”

Coleman said Dixon essentially funded the first season alone. However, it was Coleman who was there twice a week with the kids.

“We went from the third week in June to the third week in August. I had no refs, so I was reffing four games a night; I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” Coleman said. “But it helped me out so much; I became embedded into the community and knew every kid personally by the end.”

Now, five summers later, the league has taken on a life of its own. The city splits expenses with Dixon, allowing for every player to receive a trophy, t-shirt, certificate of participation, and bag inscribed with either “All-Star” or “League Champ” upon completion of the season. Last year, the league also finally invested in two referees, Sean Sylver and Andrew Herlihy, who also set up the court and compile statistics.

Coleman said he tries to make the league as official as possible. This year, four teams each from the younger and older divisions, 7 to 12 and 13 to 18 years old respectively, battle each other from July 1 to July 31. Each week, players are updated with statistical league leaders and the players of the week.

Playoffs are scheduled to begin on Thursday, July 21, when teams will face off in three-game series to reach the coveted championship game. On the last Thursday of the month, the court’s perimeter becomes standing room only, as the top two teams from each division face off for always-epic championship matches. Trophies are then awarded and league MVPs are named.

All of this makes for the best month of the year for many Somerville kids with hoop dreams. Coleman said he is swarmed by kids yelling, “When are we starting?” when he makes his first appearance of the summer. He said many players practice year-round in preparation for the summer.

Shyheem Silva, 12, said he practices often “to win the championship or league MVP.” His friend, Isaiah Remington, 11, has a different objective: “I practice to make my team better.”

All this practice seems to be paying off. Coleman said, ‚ÄúI’ve watched many of these kids really grow over the years.‚Äù

Coleman said when Evelyn Ayala, a 10-year-old Canal Street resident and sister of SHS basketball star Franklin Salvador, began with the league three summers ago, she was often pushed around as the smallest player on the court. Now, she has aspirations for the Somerville High girls team and rightfully so; she’s tied for second in the younger division with six points per game. ‚ÄúI can see growth in Evelyn everyday,‚Äù Coleman said.

At this pace she may even reach her ultimate goal: “I want to be in the WNBA,” she said.

 
The league, making no distinction between boys or girls, gives female players a unique opportunity to   hone their skills. Roxanna Flores, an incoming freshman at Somerville High who Coleman calls ‚Äútenacious,‚Äù is an integral member of her ultra-competitive, older division team. Coleman said she made a memorable diving play last Tuesday to keep her team in a double-overtime game.

Coleman said the league wouldn’t be possible without an abundance of helping hands, from referees, coaches, scorekeepers, timekeepers, and stat-keepers. ‚ÄúEveryone’s always ready to step up,‚Äù he said.

Stepping up this summer is Stevenson Aman, a Somerville resident and friend of Coleman’s. Aman attended UMASS Amherst, before he was hit by a trolley and now walks with a cane. Nevertheless, he’s present every Tuesday and Thursday in a full suit and alligator loafers, ready to coach both a younger and older division team.

Former Somerville High track star Tanisha Duchatelier also coaches. She said, “[The league] opens the doors for these kids to play basketball. Some of them are just learning and then some of them get the chance to play with the big kids and see what its like.”

The league is the only free youth league in Somerville and Silva said, ‚ÄúIt’s where all the good players come to play.‚Äù

However, to Coleman, it’s more than just basketball. ‚ÄúEvery night I come out here I see kids running around and I don’t even see their parents,‚Äù he said. ‚ÄúIt’s because everyone’s looking out for one another. This community is like a tight-knit family.‚Äù