If you happen to click on the ABOUT link on the top of this page, you will read a summary of our North Shore Catholic Elementary School Basketball League and how it was founded in 1975.  Oh sure, there is all kinds of information about basketball, who makes the playoffs, and such.  But there is also a paragraph about the purpose of our league.  The paragraph is as follows:

The purpose of the NSCESBL is to enhance the mission of our member schools by teaching children the game of basketball and giving them experience with teamwork and sportsmanship while developing their skills.  All coaching procedures, as well as every coach's conduct, reflect this purpose.

If you ever wanted to see this paragraph in real life, all you had to do was be in the stands at the Northeast Metro Tech gym on Saturday afternoon, February 5, 2011 for the Boys Varsity game between OLA and Immaculate Conception.  I can not tell the story any better than it was relayed to the League in the following letter.  Enjoy!

Hi All,

I am writing this note to congratulate the OLA Varsity Boys team and their coaches for the extraordinary sportsmanship displayed by them during our game last Saturday night.

This has been a very challenging year for the Immaculate Conception Boys varsity team.  We have only 10 players on our team, of which only 3 are 8th graders.  Several of my players are very novice players, having started playing organized basketball either this year or last.  I would not trade any of these players and what they lack in experience they make up for with effort, energy and enthusiasm.  Just as importantly, each player is improving each and every day and I honestly believe is having a terrific experience.  That said, we have been on the short end of a few very difficult losses.

Last Saturday, the OLA coaches and players demonstrated the type of spirit that I think should serve as a standard bearer for our league.  They showed Christian spirit right from the start, giving opportunities to players on their team that normally do not get a chance to start.  These players were still very good basketball players, but perhaps had not been presented with this opportunity before.

The spirit continued throughout the game, as OLA played very good, competitive basketball, but always within the framework of the Christian spirit.  Don’t get me wrong, the OLA boys played very hard, as did the IC boys, but understood how to play that way without embarrassing the other team.  This is a credit to both terrific leadership and great boys.  The OLA had a few exceptional players that played the absolute minimal time.  These boys obviously put a lot of time into becoming terrific players and sacrificed an opportunity to compete and, as far as I could see, understood and gladly accepted the direction.

Please do not misconstrue this message as an appeal for pity for our team.  We continue to strive to become better basketball players and can handle the results of any one game.  In fact, our boys have been galvanized by their experience and I can proudly say love playing basketball, especially for the IC.

This message is clearly meant to recognize the OLA coaches and players that truly get the spirit of playing in a Catholic Basketball League. Here’s wishing the best to the OLA Boys Varsity Basketball team!

Best Regards,

Mike Doyle

Head Boys Varsity Coach/Athletic Director

Immaculate Conception School