ALPENA – Cliff LaMay, 42, has been playing basketball since he was young and wanted to provide this experience to his children and other children in the community.
LaMay is the founder of the DABS Basketball League at Alpena. He launched it in 2019 and around 100 people got involved. In 2020, it had around 200 registrants, but the league was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021 they numbered around 60-70 people and in 2022 it increased to 150 people.
It’s not just boys either. The league is made up of boys and girls. One of the women’s teams in the youth division this year almost won the entire tournament.
“There was a girl team that played this year in the youth division and they won almost everything,” LaMay said. “Every week they like progressed so much. The first week, they were beaten pretty badly. You know, they’re kids, so the scores weren’t that (high), but the girls were playing with boys, they were ball players, they weren’t girls, they were basketball players, he there were a lot of other families and girls who were probably a little nervous playing against boys and stuff like that. Sometimes they get nervous, but these girls almost won everything they lost by about two points.
Getting the league started took a lot of word of mouth, LaMay said.
“Well, I mean, it was a lot of word of mouth, I was running around like, ‘You gotta join this basketball league, you gotta join this basketball league,’ you really know how to attack people who try to get the kids involved,” LaMay said.
At first, a lot of high schoolers, juniors, and adults in their 20s and 30s joined, and LaMay couldn’t have children.
“The kids weren’t really interested,” LaMay said. “They were more afraid to go down there. They think streetball is something different when it’s not really different from basketball. The children were afraid of being bullied, but this was not the case.
LaMay said what keeps him going is the kids. He said when he was growing up basketball was very big and a lot of people played at Bay View Park in the early 90s.
“I love basketball, it was like a pretty big thing in our community when I started going there in Bay View in 1990, 91, I think, it was a really big thing, a lot lots of people were there playing basketball all the time, and then over the years I played a lot of tournaments with some players that ended up being ranked number one in the state,” LaMay said.
He said after that he slowly backed off. When he sent his kids to Bay View to play basketball with others, there was no one to play with.
“And then my kids, my son-in-law and my son, they started getting involved in basketball and I told them to go play Bay View and no one would be there for them to lose. their time riding bikes all the way to Bay View just to sit on the bench or pull a little bit and come over so I said, “That’s enough, I’m starting a basketball league and that’s how it happened,” LaMay said.
LaMay’s love for Alpena and the need for a basketball league eventually inspired him to start one.
“A need,” LaMay said. “There was a need for this and no one really reached out and tried to pull this together. And I love Alpena. I think Alpena is also a good place to live. So I wanted to be able to fill that need.
LaMay also said he wanted to have him at Alpena to not only help the kids grow, but to give people that option locally so they don’t have to travel as much.
“And for that to happen here in Alpena and not having to travel to different cities just to go and play in a tournament and all that. During this time, money is tight, gas is high and everything else so I felt like these kids were growing up in this sport and just in general so I could go out there on the field and not have somebody one as a coach or nothing and try to figure it out on their own, you know they grow a little bit and learn the game on their own and you know that helps them a little bit in life,” LaMay said.
LaMay said he had children back and thanked him for helping them. Sometimes when the kids are on the court, he helps them with basketball by showing them techniques and passing the ball to them to get shots.
“When I was at Bay View, you know the kids were right there, I was working with them on basketball and stuff like that and they were like, ‘Yeah, thank you so much,'” LaMay said. “If they need to shoot, I pass the ball to them and let them shoot and all that.”
He said he would eventually like to get into coaching kids. He has helped his children a lot and he knows what it takes to shape someone into what they want to do, he said.
LaMay said he encourages others to get involved in their community.
“Absolutely,” LaMay said. “It’s the only way to grow up, the only way to keep your kids out of trouble. You know there is always something going on where there is something to do. You know there always has to be something happening where you know your kids are involved and something that inspires them. Art, sports, music. Just stuff to keep the community alive. Provide children with different outlets. »
LaMay said watching the kids is the best part of the league.
“Watching the kids is the most important thing and they’re having fun,” LaMay said. “And just enjoy it.”