As part of efforts to revitalize school spirit following the pandemic, the Athletic Leadership Council (ALC) held a 3v3 pickup basketball tournament on November 3.
The tournament, which was held in the gym after school, pitted 13 teams of three against each other in a knockout format.
According to athletic director Dennis Stanton, getting kids moving again was a big focus of the ALC when they decided to hold the tournament.
“The overall goal is just to get kids involved,” Stanton said. “[We want] to get [them] out there and have a good time.”
Stanton feels that the tournament was a “great opportunity for people who might not be on the basketball team to get involved.” Because the ALC implemented a limit on how many varsity players could be on a team, something they hoped would help bring the teams closer in terms of ability.
“Obviously, they’re going to be too good,” ALC member Angela Borisow said. “So we decided that we could have only one varsity basketball player per team.”
Before the tournament, Stanton had high hopes for his team, featuring himself, guidance counselor Tim Brown and social studies teacher Okoteh Sackitey.
“The number one seed? It’s [Sackitey,] Tim Brown and Dennis Stanton,” Stanton said. “That’s the favorite.’’
Stanton’s confidence wasn’t unfounded, as his team, the Old Heads, cruised to victory undefeated.
Sophomore Molly Brandt said she enjoyed playing in the tournament, despite not winning.
“My team didn’t do very well,” Brandt said, “but it was just fun to hang out with friends and get to play basketball without too much stress.”
The ALC used to host similar events before the pandemic. “I’d like to see more events like this,” Borisow said. “I think we should do a soccer tournament or volleyball [tournament].”
According to Stanton, the ALC aims to return to hosting more frequent and larger tournaments that are open to all students, just as the 3v3 tournament was.
“[The ALC is] always going to do different things, different initiatives, different tournaments,” Stanton said. “Get involved, whether you’re an athlete or not, jump out there and get involved.”
Stanton and Borisow said that planning the tournament was fairly straightforward but finding a date to host the tournament was a challenge due to the busy schedules of many student-athletes.
“It sounds crazy with 180 school days, but it is hard to find the time to do things like this where no one’s doing anything,” Stanton said. “We chose this week because it’s in between fall and winter.”
Money raised from the tournament goes towards a scholarship for student-athletes given out by the ALC at the end of the year.