Photo by Gianna Beck ’19 | YMCA teams 3’s and Dubs and DTD3CS play each other on Sept. 15 at the Christown YMCA
By Alex Cannella ’19
THE ROUNDUP
One of the most popular events Brophy does in the community is the intramural sports tournaments. YMCA basketball takes that intramural experience and expands upon the idea of fun-based competition.
Over 35 seniors have registered to be a part of different teams this semester. Brophy students alone account for three separate teams in the YMCA league.
Tommy Moore ’19 and his friends were some of the pioneers of the recent trend. His team played last year as Juniors and are back this year for the sake of joy.
“None of us were in season for our school sports so we decided to make a team compete. It just happened to turn out to be really fun,’’ Moore said.
After watching Moore’s team compete last year, both John Dowse ’19 and Connor White ’19 felt inspired to start their own teams and join in on the fun.
“We mainly started this team to get closer as friends. Everyone on the team actually goes to Brophy so it feels just like an extension of us hanging out together,” Dowse said.
The YMCA’s basketball program is labeled as the Jr. Suns, which of course correlates with the hometown Phoenix Suns of the NBA. Each year the championship is held in the Suns’ arena.
Moore’s team was able to capture the championship on November 15, 2018 after a .500 regular season.
“Last year we were able to pull a few gritty wins to come back and make a run for the championship,” Moore said.
“We all agree that winning is great, but the main goal to have fun as friends,” Dowse said. “If we get the chance to play in the Suns’ arena that’d be something we could look back on and remember for a while.”
Not only has the YMCA league drawn the attention of players, but has also struck the hearts of fans.
Dowse’s team played Moore’s team on Fri. Sept. 28 and a crowd of over 100 people came to watch the game. The Christown YMCA gym was filled with students dressed in purple and white cheering on their friends.
White plays for the third team of Brophy students. He admires the support all three teams are receiving from the Brophy-Xavier community.
“I think it’s bringing everyone together,” White said. “You’d think it wouldn’t, but I haven’t seen any division or conflict as a result. It’s nice to see how everyone supports one another no matter what the scoreboard says.”
