A League Of His Own Local Teen Forms Basketball League Where The Focus Is On Having Fun

Ryan Johnson was riding home on the bus, in the winter of 1992, when his friend Jude Battista suggested they start a recreational basketball league.

At first, Ryan thought the idea was a bit far-fetched, but he decided to give it a try. Now in its fourth season, the Spring Basketball League (or SBL) offers a chance for up to 50 kids to play basketball for fun.

“In high school, it can be really competitive,” Ryan explained. “A lot of kids don’t try out because they don’t want the rejection, or they get cut as freshmen and then never try again.

“The SBL is a league for everyone,” he added.

Ryan, manager of the league and self-described commissioner, organizes games, keeps stats and puts out a weekly newsletter. He does all this at the same time as being a serious track athlete and an honor student at Lewis and Clark High School.

The league has doubled in size since it began in 1992. In its first year, it was composed of about 30 “neighborhood kids,” Ryan said. Back then, he explained, it was mainly pick-up ball - everyone met at the courts and lined up to pick teams. They wrote up a rough schedule for the six teams that played and hoped for the best.

Those 30 neighborhood kids have now grown to almost 70 people who signed up for this season. After trying to coordinate 10 teams last year, however, Ryan realized it was too hard to organize. This year, the league is limited to eight teams of five people each. The remaining people are subs.

The games are played at Comstock Park on Fridays and Saturdays. Ryan supervises games, arranges for adults to referee, and transports scoreboards and tables. At the end of each season, the teams play off for the championship of the league. Last year, it went to Ryan’s team, the Jayhawks.

Ryans work doesn’t stop after all the games have been played. After each season, he puts out a 25-page information packet with all the statistics on every player for the season. In addition, the weekly newsletter he writes gives a summary of each game and “makes fun of some of the players.”

The teams for the SBL are picked in much the same way the NBA draft is chosen. The eight team captains meet at Ryan’s house with a list of players. They take turns picking from the list of athletes, this year ranging in age from 12 to 18.

Jason Bart, an SBL player for four years, is captain of the team Reservoir Dogs. He says he likes the league because it gives him something to do, lets him have fun hanging out with his friends and improves his skills. He appreciates the fact that the league is focused on having fun and enjoying the game rather than on competition.

Jason and Ryan both echo the same sentiment when it comes to the opportunities the league provides. One of the best things about it, they say, is everyone gets a chance to play. The teams range in skill level from varsity basketball players to those who have never played an organized sport in their lives. By avoiding age limits, guidelines and fees, SBL give kids who normally wouldn’t play organized sports the chance to participate.

Ryan graduates this year and plans to leave Spokane for college, but he hopes the league continues. His brother plans to carry on the SBL tradition.

Ryan has created not only a basketball league, but a place for teens to have fun and play sports they would otherwise be left out of. Pretty good for an idea cooked up on the back of a school bus.