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When it comes to building a high school basketball program anymore, it comes down to the summer. That’s right. The summer.

Sure, while June workouts are in full swing, the start of the high school hoops preseason practice schedule is still more than four months away. And in fact, most people will be celebrating Thanksgiving before the first regular season games tip off. To say the least, basketball is a long, long way off.

But don’t think for one minute basketball has become an afterthought at this time of the year. That would be the furthest thing from the truth.

For many, this has become one of the most important times of the year. High school gymnasiums throughout the Northland have been in full swing, including the ones in Kearney, where many of the area high school boys basketball programs have begun laying the foundation for their upcoming seasons.

“The bottom line is that we want the kids to be touching a basketball as much as possible,” Kearney coach Gary Belcher said. “That’s the only way they’re going to become better basketball players.”

For most high school basketball programs these days, additional summer workouts beyond the typical camps have become the norm for the varsity-level athletes. But it’s not usually the same for lower-level players in the development stages of a basketball program.That’s where the Kearney summer league comes into play. In its fourth year of existence, Belcher started the league not so much for the area varsity squads, but specifically for junior varsity and even incoming freshman players.

Since establishing the league in the summer of 2006, Kearney has rattled off three consecutive district titles and made an appearance in the Class 4 state championship game this past weekend. Coincidence? Not likely.

“It goes back to my assessment after that first summer after my first year here and asking my assistant coaches, ‘Where do our younger kids play in the summer?’ Belcher said. “If we’re going to develop this program to the point where year-in and year-out we’re competitive, our younger kids have to have an avenue to play. We’re insuring that our kids can play.

“I don’t know if our stability in our program and the amount of success we’ve had the last few years is related to this. But I’d say it has to have some bearing.”

That seems to be the popular assessment, especially from the programs that have participated in Kearney’s league from its inception, including Park Hill and Smithville.

“We look at it as a first chance to get our hands on those younger kids,” Park Hill coach David Garrison said. “The summer is a big time to get together and build chemistry. Not only do the kids get the opportunity to play together, but it’s a chance for the coaches to start building a relationship with the players.

“Trying to do things within our system over the summer can be rough at times, but it’s all going to help us get to where we want to be in November.”

Smithville coach Chad Jones added, “You have to have those lower levels in there, or else the kids don’t progress at the pace you need to be contributors in the next couple of years. We’ve got 30 kids between our freshman and JV programs. We have our freshman coach and our JV coach work with them so they start to get a feel for them and have an idea what the talent level’s going to be like for the following years.”

Several other area teams are now following suit. Liberty, one of the varsity additions this summer, also has two teams in the junior varsity league.

“It was a great opportunity to have three teams play,” Liberty coach Roger Stirtz said. “Some of the other leagues had shut down, and we were looking for a place to play. The Kearney league is very good competition, and it’s very close to us. It was really a logical fit for us.”

Nearly three dozen teams from Kearney, Cameron, Chillicothe, Excelsior Springs, Liberty, Park Hill, Park Hill South, Platte County, St. Pius X, Smithville, Staley and Winnetonka had the league busting at the seams.

The four-week varsity schedule featured a six-hour window of solid basketball on Sundays, while the junior varsity and freshman games went for a staggering eight hours on Wednesdays.

“We just want the kids to play, in game settings with officials and where you’re allowed to coach them,” Belcher said. “The goal is not to win games. We just want the kids to play and try to get better, both individually and collectively.

Sports writer Chris Geinosky can be reached at 389-6654 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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