If you were at Blaine High School last Sunday than you could not have missed the gigantic basketball league going on in the field house. What is this league called you might ask, or when did it begin at Blaine? Well this article will answer all of those questions and more.

The name of this league is Midwest 3 on 3 and it has been held at Blaine High School for 5 years now. Kids ranging from 1st grade to 11th come to get some real basketball action and experience. Blainebasketball players host the games as referees and scorekeepers. The players volunteer to ref but do not get paid directly because the money goes to the basketball program. The basketball program uses this money to pay for traveling expenses, new uniforms, and more basketballs.

Zac Yahn (10) is a player at Blaine who both refs the games and plays later in the night. According to him “ The gym can get really hot, but other than that it is a really fun experience and I have enjoyed working it for the past few years.”. With 116 teams it is understandable how crowded and hot the small gymnasium can get.

We talked to Mr. Barnette who is a basketball coach and knows a lot about the 3 on 3 league. He was a very valuable resource to get information about the league because he helps run it and he’s done it for a few years. Barnette told us that  “ last year there was 100 teams in the league and this year they added 16 teams.” So it obviously is a very popular league that many people are involved with.

Whats better than a bunch of girls and boys running around a really hot and sweaty gym for a few hours on Sunday nights playing the sport that they love? This league goes for five weeks and makes a lot of money for the basketball program to take care of travel and other gear expenses. Even though the players don’t get paid they still have loads of fun and love reffing and playing the kids in the Midwest 3 on 3 league. So if you want to go watch some great quality basketball come down to the high school on a Sunday, but hurry it only lost for 4 more weeks!