By Dr. Paul Drew

Welcome to the sixth issue of volume one of Swish, a weekly periodical with recaps and photos of Santa Monica YMCA youth basketball games, and other pertinent info such as standings, schedules, announcements, and updates from the program.

History of Basketball: Dr. James Naismith and the YMCA

Did you know that the game of basketball was invented at the YMCA?  In 1891, Canadian James Naismith, who had a degree in physical education from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and had become the university’s first athletic director, left Montreal to become a physical education teacher at the YMCA International Training School (later to be named Springfield College), in Springfield, Massachusetts.

It was the wintertime, and Naismith had the task of trying to keep rowdy young men occupied with a game or activity that could be done inside the gymnasium during the harsh weather of the New England winter.  He wanted to make sure that it was an activity that wouldn’t involve physical roughness such as football or lacrosse.  So he created an activity that had 13 simple rules:

1. The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands.
2. The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands.
3. A player cannot run with the ball, the player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowance to be made for a man who catches the ball when running at good speed.
4. The ball must be held in or between the hands, the arms or body must not be used for holding it.
5. No shouldering, holding, pushing, tripping or striking in any way the person of an opponent shall be allowed. The first infringement of this rule by any person shall count as a foul, the second shall disqualify him until the next goal is made, or if there was evident intent to injure the person, for the whole of the game, no substitute.
6. A foul is striking the ball with the fist, violation of rules 3 and 4, and such as described in rule 5.
7. If either side makes three consecutive fouls it shall count a goal for opponents.
8. A goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from grounds into the basket and stays there. If the ball rests on the edge and the opponent moves the basket it shall count as a goal.
9. When the ball goes out of bounds it shall be thrown into the field and played by the person first touching it. In case of a dispute, the umpire shall throw it straight into the field. The “thrower-in” is allowed five seconds. If he holds it longer it shall go to the opponent. If any side persists in delaying the game, the umpire shall call a foul on them.
10. The umpire shall be the judge of the men and shall note the fouls, and notify the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made.
11. The referee shall be the judge of the ball and shall decide when the ball is in play, in-bounds, and to which side it belongs, and shall keep the time. He shall decide when a goal has been made and keep account of the goals with any other duties that are usually performed by a referee.
12. The time shall be fifteen-minute halves, with five-minute rests between.
13. The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winner. In the case of a draw, the game may, by agreement of the captains, be continued until another goal is made.

Obviously, there has been changes since these original rules, such as adding dribbling, free throws, and point values.  But the game has many of the same roots in the original rules.

At first, Naismith wanted to use boxes for the goals, but had to settle for peach baskets, when no boxes were available.  To be honest, I don’t think that I would like the name “Boxball”

The first baskets had no holes in them, and a janitor would have to climb a ladder, in order to retrieve the ball.  Later, a small hole was put in the bottom of the basket, to push the ball out with a long stick.  It wasn’t until 1906, 15 years later, that the bottom of the net was cut out, in order to let the ball through.

The YMCA was instrumental in promoting the sport throughout the United States, Canada, and the rest of the world by having YMCA basketball leagues established.  Naismith would become the physical education director for the Denver YMCA, while working on his medical degree.  Even during WWI, Naismith was an army chaplain who worked at the YMCA in France, promoting the sport.  

On his graduation from medical school, the University of Kansas was seeking an athletic coach and a director for their 650 seat chapel which students attended every morning. He was ideally prepared for the post and was recommended to the University as ‘..inventor of basketball, medical doctor, Presbyterian minister, teetotaler, all-round athlete, non-smoker, and owner of a vocabulary without cuss words.’  He went on to become the head basketball coach at the University of Kansas.

Dr. Naismith lived long enough to see basketball make its debut as an Olympic sport in Berlin in 1936, as he was in attendance to watch the sport that he invented.  By his passing in 1939, basketball had become a collegiate sport, and was being played at YMCAs all around the world, and to be enjoyed by future generations for many years to come.

Rookies

Sunday served as a rematch of the week prior between the Hawks & Swans.  With Swans eyeing for a win to avenge last week’s loss, and the Hawks coming ready for it.  The first quarter Hawks went strong and Amir Enayati showed once again why he’s one of Rookie’s best scoring 6 points out of the gate along with a few steals and rebounds to go with it…he added another free throw at the half accounting for all the Hawks points at half.  For the Swans, Jonathan Watson & Tristan Hayes got a basket a piece to give the Swans 4 points at the half. 
In the second half Enayati & Diego Gonzalez put up a basket a piece to make 11 total.  The Swans Jaxton Moore put in a basket and overall pulled down 11 rebounds plus a block and a steal. Lara Masood grabbed 6 rebounds.  Max Enenstein added 2 rebounds and 2 blocks and kept consistent with his truly impressive defense for an often outsized kindergartner.  Benjamin Bassett played his part at defense plus added a rebound.  Tristan Hayes also grabbed 13 rebounds and 2 steals.  Watson ended with 6 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 steals, and had another 2 points at the end off 2 of 6 from the free throw line leaving it just one point shy of a tie at 10-11 with Hawks taking it once again.  Submitted by Coach Holden Hayes

Hawks’ game summary from 11/3 vs The Swans:  Led by Player of the Game Amir Enayati’s 7 points, 8 Rebounds, 6 Steals, and 2 Blocks; the Hawks got their 2nd victory of the season.  It took a team effort against a feisty Swans team that played hard from start to finish. Kingston Andes continues to raise his level of all-around play with 2 points, 7 Rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block.  Chase Jenkins added a late driving runner to cap the Hawks’ scoring.  Diego Gonzalez, Ryan Drew, and Juney Jones combined for 7 rebounds, 5 steals.  Ryan also dished out an assist; his first of the season. Devon Shao collected 2 rebounds, and her sister Regan Shao added some nice passes to keep the offense moving.  Down the stretch, defense was critical.  Spencer Nelson provided that needed spark, coming up with a timely steal to preserve the lead.  Submitted by Coach Charles Ellinwood

With all 10 of our Bulldogs at the game and playing a very good opponent, I felt that if our unbeaten streak were to end, then today was the day.  Although we have been holding our opponents to only 2-3 baskets per game, we never had a problem putting the ball in the basket until this game.  We made only 2 baskets, but held the Crows to just 1 basket and a free throw to win 4-3.  The Crows played just as tenacious defense as we have all year, so good shots at the basket were few and far between for both teams.  We also got far fewer second (and third) chances, as we have in previous games.  Both teams missed numerous quality shots and it came down to free throws at the end; where we were very lucky to prevail.  Bella Kariger lead us this week, but you don’t win 4-3 without everyone playing hard on defense.  With the championship now within sight, our Bulldogs have now switched gears into trying to go unbeaten this season.  Submitted by Coach Rick Moncher

In a rematch of the top two teams in the Rookie League, the Crows and Bulldogs squared off in what turned out to be defensive battle similar to the first game between the first two. A scoreless 1st quarter turned into a 4-0 deficit late in the game for the Crows. However, thanks to a teamwide effort on the defensive end, the Crows kept it close til the very end. Finally an Alan Larkin basket with a nice assist from Dylan Kravitz cut it to 4-2 late in the game. Then through the determination of Larkin, Veronica Machala, and Ethan Pages under the basket, the Crows had a chance to win it at the free throw line. In a game that could have gone either way the Crows lost a heartbreaker 4-3. But more importantly, they made their coaches and parents proud by how hard they fought to the very end!  Submitted by Coach Bill Kravitz

The Crows Veronica Machala, Scarlett Harris, and Oliver Harris made these drawings to help pump them up for their game against the Crows. 

Bantams

The Rams battled the Bengals in Bantam league action on Saturday.   The Bengals held tough in the early going, but the Rams’ size, tough defense and offensive rebounding proved to be too much.  The final score was Rams 26 – Bengals 12.   The Rams had a balanced scoring attack with seven players scoring: Jarvis Wakefield (6), Jack Carter (4), Henry Brown (4), Sean Saunders (4), Gavin Bao (4), Bora Kocastaskin (2) and Michael Mikhail (2).  The Rams next game is against the Steelers next Saturday.  Submitted by Coach Peter Brown

The Bengals were up against the much taller and more physical Rams.  At first, the Bengals were able to keep pace, and the scored stayed tied through the first quarter.  But, the longer reach of the Rams would grab multiple rebounds, thus leading to many second chance opportunities for the Rams, to which they were able to capitalize and build a big lead.  The Bengals mounted a nice comeback in the second half to make the score more reasonable, and learned valuable lessons in being aggressive for rebounds, and passing the ball around, rather than trying to dribble through multiple defenders.  The Bengals communicated well with each other on defense to choose their man on man assignments.  Birthday boy Dominic Drew had a basket as a bday gift.  Gavin O’Brien put on a nice show of crossover dribbling and taking it to the basket to score a la Steph Curry, showing why he wears number 30.  Julian Weinerman and Asher Zaczepinski had strong leadership roles in helping to support teammates on offense and defense.  Jahveed Braham was Mr. Hustle with his never ending pursuit of the ball.  Submitted by Coach Paul Drew

The Bengals made a nice turnaround on Sunday in their game against the Buccaneers who employed a very tough zone defense and made excellent screens on our defenders to free up their shooters.  For this game, the Bengals distributed the ball with efficiency and were looking for teammates to pass to, instead of trying to dribble through multiple defenders.  Camden Goetz was “Player of the Game” with 4 buckets and helping to control the game.  Asher Zaczepinski added a bucket, and Gavin O’Brien had two baskets with multiple steals.  Kai Mavasse and Ryan Cohen had multiple rebounds, and Austin O’Brien provided good defensive support.  Alex Segil came up big with key rebounds and a nice assist in the 4th quarter to help the Bengals to victory.  Good to see the Bengals stick with the game plan and communicate well with each other on the court.  Submitted by Coach Paul Drew

The Bantam Titans continue to show a great team attitude with all 10 players attending the game on Saturday vs. the Jets.  With the team at full strength, they were able to play excellent defense throughout the entire game.  Liam Mulholland and Ivan Gatyana were anchors in the low post with several blocks and steals.  Alex Ma and Kaden Friedman provided some early baskets.  Archer Aguilar and Ronan Hill played great individual defense agains the Jets best players.  Erol Besincioglu and Luke Hill were able to make some steals and looked to pass the ball to the open player.  James Petrovich made a timely basket late in the game while Rayan Etemadnia showed great intensity and defensive effort.  Well done Titans!  Submitted by Coach Michael Ma

Minors

The Vikings came ready to play against the Chiefs. Isaac Samy, for the Vikings, played an all around game from his steals, to his rebounds and scoring. However, the Chiefs found some rhythm and closed the 1st half trailing 12-8.
The Chiefs came out in the second half being lead by Asa Stiehm and Birthday Boy, Arjun McIntosh, who both helped the Chiefs take a 1 point lead, bringing the score to 13-12. But the Vikings Jack Phelan had other plans and hit a jumper, off a beautiful drop off pass from Rowan Booher, to put the Vikings back up by 1. While both teams traded baskets, in the end, Alex Brick sealed the game by hitting the final bucket to give the Chiefs the victory with a final score of 24-22  Submitted by Leul Belay and Coach Shannon Booher

The Falcons came out flying against the Chiefs! Lead by Parker Cappiccille, Matt Scholze, Max Baracy and Matt Hanasab’s two big buckets from the far corner. They took control of the first half leading 13-10.
The Chiefs quickly established rhythm on both offense and defense with strong play by Max Brown and Griffin Bochella, each putting up 6pts. With the strong presence of Alex Brick, the Chiefs were able to control the middle and secure a  23-13 victory over the Falcons.  Submitted by Leul Belay

It was another solid performance for the Eagles this weekend as the team continues to find their rhythm and embrace the fundamentals of team basketball.  This weekend’s game against the formidable Bills boasted some of the best defense we’ve seen out of the Eagles with plenty of half-court pressure and more than a few steals.  The team backed up their defensive play with good passing and offensive intensity.  These boys are making huge strides.  Couldn’t be prouder of them!  Submitted by Coach Michael Jones-Morales

The Bills came from behind to beat the Seahawks on Saturday.  Both teams got off to a slow start.  The Seahawks pulled ahead thanks to their offensive rebounding, getting second and third chances to score.  The Bills were down 2-12 just before the end of the first half when Eddie Stein hit a long range buzzer beater that electrified the crowd.  The Bills found their offense in the second half.  Weston Keslow and Hunter Esposito-Doi both played well, getting steals for fast-break layups and hitting three-pointers.  Eddie Stein had his best game yet, pushing the ball up the court, making good passes, and hitting several shots.  The Bills’ defense improved too, holding the Seahawks to just 4 points in the second half.  Submitted by Coach Jonathan Wray

In their second game of the weekend, the Bills fell prey to the Eagles Sunday night.  It was close for most of the game, but the Eagles made some tough shots in the second half to put the game out of reach.  The Eagles also played aggressive defense, contesting shots and blocking passing lanes, making the Bills work for every basket.  Priya Mevasse scored a basket and got fouled on a couple shots (the Bills need to get the ball to her more often).  Jacob Escontrias and TJ Turner played solid defense for the Bills.  Tavio Esposito-Portillo and other guards showed improvement by dishing to teammates at times instead of throwing up ill-advised shots.  The Bills will need to do more of that if they are to fair well in the end-of-season tournament.  Submitted by Coach Jonathan Wray

Majors

As chance would have it, the schedule on Saturday pitted the top 4 teams in Majors against each other in back-to-back games, so tensions were high at the gym.  After we watched a thrilling Broncos victory over the Colts, we knew a victory over the Rams would give us a tie for first and allow us to control our own destiny.  We lead by 7 at the half and won 37-31, but the game was close throughout. Every time we tried to pull away, they would hit a few shots to close the gap.  Sam Rubin was key for us on both ends of the court; hitting big buckets when we needed them and getting plenty of rebounds and steals.  Jesse Lister had 8 points in his best game of the season; while Dom Kajota, Timosha Moncher, Bruno Picazo, and Lukas Greblikas all hit 2 buckets for some very balanced scoring.  Up next for our Packers are the much bigger Colts in a battle for first next weekend.  Submitted by Coach Rick Moncher

This Week’s Profile: Monika Diaz

Each week, Swish has a profile of a coach, player, or someone in the program who inspires all of us involved in Santa Monica YMCA basketball.

This week’s profile is of Santa Monica YMCA player:  Monika Diaz who is currently a member of the all girls Bantam team, the Buccaneers.

I had the privilege of coaching Monika for the Summer U7 Santa Monica YMCA Stars which won the U7 Culver-Palms YMCA league championship, and she was a big part of our team’s success, making critical baskets and free throws, but also out rebounding bigger boys to help secure victories for our team.

I’ve never seen a kid as dedicated to the game as she is.  She always shows up early for practice to work on her skills with her dad Chris, and often times stays after practice to continue working on her skills.  

One time during the summer season, Monika came to practice with a splint on her right hand, and instead of sitting out, she spent the time taking one hand shots on her opposite left hand, making buckets in the regulation hoop!

As much as I feel that she will probably end up in the WNBA someday, she’s still just a girl that I’ve seen outside the YMCA, riding her bicycle and being a kid, and enjoying time with her family, and giving me that shy smile and hi back when I say hello.

DocDrew:  What’s your favorite thing about playing basketball at the YMCA?
Monika:   My favorite thing about playing basketball at the YMCA, is playing with my teammates.

DocDrew:  What’s your most memorable moment in all the games that you have played at the YMCA?
Monika:  My most memorable moment is when I scored 18 points in a game.

DocDrew:  When you are not playing basketball, what other activities or hobbies do you like to do?
Monika:  When I don’t play basketball, I like to watch kids on youtube.

DocDrew:  Who is your favorite player, and why?
Monika:  My favorite player is LeBron James because he plays for the Lakers and he is good at basketball.

It’s great to have Monika involved with Santa Monica YMCA basketball where she inspires girls, but other boys as well.  We marvel at her talent and determination to be the best, but most importantly, being a kid and enjoying the game.

Scores

Saturday November 3rd

Rookies:  

No games scheduled

Bantams:  

Jets 8, Titans 14

Rams 26, Bengals 12

Minors:

Bills 21, Seahawks 17

Chiefs 23, Vikings 21

Majors:  

Dolphins 51, Raiders 55

Ravens 33, Panthers 33

Colts 53, Broncos 54

Packers 37, Rams 31

Sunday,  November 4th

Rookies:  

Hawks 11, Swans 10

Tigers 16, Cats 6

Bulldogs 4, Crows 3

Bantams:  

Bengals 14, Buccaneers 10

Minors:  

Bears 22, Seahawks 36

Giants 25, Vikings 23

Falcons 15, Chiefs 26

Eagles 27, Bills 18

Majors:  

No games scheduled  

Standings

Teams are awarded 5 points for a win, 3 points for a tie, 1 point for a loss, 0 points for a forfeit.  Tournament games have greater point value.  Teams are listed in their place in the standings with W-L-T and team points

Rookies:  

Bulldogs 6-0-0, 30 points

Tigers 4-2-0, 22 points

Crows 3-3-0, 18 points

Cats 2-4-0, 14 points *Cats beat Hawks head to head

Hawks 2-4-0, 14 points

Swans 1-5-0, 10 points

Bantams:  

Titans  5-1-0, 26 points

Rams 3-2-1, 20 points

Packers 3-1-1, 19 points

Bengals 3-3-0, 18 points

Broncos 3-1-0, 16 points

Jets 2-5-0, 15 points *Jets beat Bucs head to head

Buccaneers 2-5-0, 15 points

Steelers 1-4-0, 9 points

Minors:  

Chiefs 6-0-0, 30 points

Eagles 4-1-0, 21 points

Giants 4-1-0, 21 points

Bills 3-3-0, 18 points

Seahawks 3-3-0, 18 points

Vikings 1-5-0, 10 points

Bears 1-4-0, 9 points

Falcons 0-5-0, 5 points

Majors:  

Colts 5-1-0, 26 points

Packers 5-1-0, 26 points

Rams 4-2-0, 22 points

Broncos 4-2-0, 22 points

Raiders 3-3-0, 18 points

Ravens 1-4-1, 12 points

Dolphins 1-5-0, 10 points

Panthers 0-5-1, 8 points

Upcoming Schedule

All games are played in the gymnasium of the Santa Monica YMCA

WINTER LEAGUE REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN IN PERSON AND ONLINE AT YMCASM.ORG FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2018
BANTAM LEAGUE
10:30 AM  TITANS VS BRONCOS
11:40 AM  BENGALS VS PACKERS
12:50 PM  STEELERS VS RAMS

ROOKIE LEAGUE-TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
2:00 PM   CATS VS HAWKS
3:10 PM   CROWS VS SWANS

MINOR LEAGUE
4:20 PM  BEARS VS FALCONS
5:30 PM  EAGLES VS GIANTS

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2018
ROOKIE LEAGUE
10:30 AM  BULLDOGS VS WINNER OF 3:10 PM 11/10 SATURDAY GAME
11:40 AM  TIGERS VS WINNER OF 2:00 PM 11/10 SATURDAY GAME

BANTAM LEAGUE
12:50 PM  PACKERS VS BRONCOS

MAJOR LEAGUE
2:00 PM   DOLPHINS VS PANTHERS
3:10 PM   RAIDERS VS BRONCOS
4:20 PM   RAVENS VS RAMS
5:30 PM   COLTS VS PACKERS

Thank you very much,

Dr. Paul Drew, editor and publisher of Swish