Rye Recreation’s fifth and sixth grade basketball program concluded last week in the Rye Middle School Gym. More than 70 children participated this winter, making it one of Rye Rec’s most popular and successful programs.
By Melanie Cane
Rye Recreation’s fifth and sixth grade basketball program concluded last week in the Rye Middle School Gym. More than 70 children participated this winter, making it one of Rye Rec’s most popular and successful programs.
Each season, the program begins with four weeks of practice skills and drills. Then, players are split up and placed among eight teams.
Games are played every Tuesday and Thursday for eight weeks, until the first week of March. An All-Star Team, selected from the eight teams, continued to play this week.
The season concludes with a popular March Madness double elimination tournament over the weekend and a much-anticipated Championship Game.
This year, the OKC Thunder, coached by Rob Angilletta and Jack Hasselman, won the championship. The winning team was comprised of Cameron Coleman, Cullen Coleman, Declan Lavelle, Henry Cetina, Kai Haesslein, Max Pollard, Preston Greto, Skyler Twyman, and Timmy O’Hare.
All the coaches, some of whom have coached for over seven years, are from Rye: Josh Kirsch, Angilletta, Rashidi Lewis, Greg Hale, Adam McReddie, Jeff Broderick, Greg Degaetano, and Greg Bean. High school students and other volunteers serve as assistant coaches.