FITCHBURG – The summer months are no time to put the basketball on the shelf as many local high school athletes are in the gym working on their game thanks to the Game On Basketball League (GBL) Summer Basketball League.
The summer league program consists of both boys’ and girls’ teams from some of the top high school programs in Central Massachusetts. Among the programs participating are Leominster, Quabbin Regional, Hudson, West Boylston, Fitchburg, Oakmont Regional, Monty Tech, Gardner and Nashoba Valley Tech among others.
Games consist of two 20 minutes halves with running time and take place on Thursday evenings at Game On Fitchburg.
A trio of local coaches were on hand to take in the games this past Thursday.
“It’s great for our kids. We have some younger kids playing with the older kids,” said Lunenburg boys’ basketball head coach Erik Dellasanta while his squad was in action against Monty Tech.
“We’ve had a lot of interest from the players who want to come out and play with their peers and gain some valuable experience. Having games here at Game On Fitchburg has been wonderful, it’s a really nice facility and our guys have played some competitive games through the first couple weeks.”
According to Dellasanta, the Lunenburg boys’ basketball program has two teams entered into the league. One team consists of seniors and freshmen and a second team with juniors and sophomores.
Both Lunenburg boys’ teams were victorious on Thursday, defeating Monty Tech 53-33 and sneaking by Oakmont Regional 57-55.
Lunenburg girls’ basketball head coach Josh Koziol was also on hand to watch the Lady Knights battle South Lancaster Academy.
“We’re going into a rebuilding year, we’re going to have to replace nine seniors, so our goal is to try and get our girls some experience and playing time with these summer league games,” said Koziol after his program’s 43-4 win against the Crusaders. “So, we opted to put everyone together and enter the league. We basically get close to 12 girls a night. We have some freshmen that look pretty good. The idea to just get them to pick up the basketball and play. Getting to know each other and playing together the winter season starts the Monday after Thanksgiving.”
Ayer-Shirley Regional girls’ basketball head coach Corey Phillips is entering his fourth season at the head of the Panthers’ bench. Phillips made the trip to Fitchburg on Thursday night to watch his team match up with St. Bernard’s.
“It’s awesome to see the girls stay together during the summer when they don’t have to,” said Phillips from his seat in the bleachers. “I think one of the most important things is developing comfort with everyone, especially the younger kids coming in. You also get a chance to see how motivated the older kids are. For me, that’s what I look to watch and look for. I think it’s great to be a part of this.”
The Lady Panthers improved to 2-0 on the young summer league season with a 29-18 victory against the Bernardians.
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