Valley Parents: Claremont basketball program provides opportunities for every kid to play

CLAREMONT — Balloons and basketballs?

Though they may seem like an unlikely combination on the court, coach Tim LeClair used both at practice one evening at the Claremont Community Center to teach his fifth and sixth grade players what he believes matters most at their level: The fundamentals.

The girls first tried dribbling two basketballs at a time, one with each hand. Then out came the balloons. With one hand dribbling the ball, the other hand had to keep the balloon from hitting the floor.

“Eyes up,” LeClair instructed. “You can’t look at the ball while dribbling and also hit the balloon”

The drill, one of several done during a one-hour practice, improves hand-eye coordination, LeClair said.

In another drill, two girls pair up and pass the ball back and forth as they run up and down the court or bounce pass to each other with one of the players making a layup at the end. At the start of practice, the players sit against the wall while LeClair and Krystal DeCoteau, who helps coach, pass the ball back and forth to each one.

“Hands out, hands out,” LeClair told them.

After the practice, Maekayla DeCoteau, 10, Krystal’s daughter, said she plays for the fun of the game.

“All I can say is I just really like basketball. I like dribbling the best and I practice it a lot,” Maekayla said.

It is the time of year when the ubiquitous sound of bouncing basketballs can be heard in recreation centers and gymnasiums all over the Upper Valley as thousands of youngsters learn the fundamentals and hopefully apply what they learn in games. In Claremont, the basketball program begins with Start Smart for kids ages preschool to kindergarten which has 26 children enrolled this year. For first and second graders there is an instructional program with 30 kids. The third and fourth grade teams, and fifth and sixth grade teams, separate for boys and girls, comprise 90 players.

Passing, defensive positions, moving without the ball are some of the facets of the game LeClair has his players work on.

“We don’t scrimmage in practice because you can’t run a play if you can’t catch and dribble so we learn to catch and dribble,” he said. “These girls pass really well, so you don’t need a lot of plays if you pass and move without the ball.”

LeClair’s Kings (so named because teams had to choose an NBA team name and several players fancied the Sacramento Kings’ purple color scheme) play games at the community center but also travel to Charlestown, Plainfield, Lebanon, Hanover, Hartford, Woodstock and other communities.

Shaun Laplante, assistant director and supervisor of programs at the community center, said the program begins with player evaluations doing different drills. The evaluations are compiled on score sheets and used to assign players to teams.

“We try to make the teams as fair as possible,” Laplante said.

The season culminates with the Twin State Valley Tournament beginning the last week of February and concluding with six championship games in early March. The double elimination tournament will have more than 40 teams this year, with many coming from beyond the Upper Valley, Laplante said.. Middle school teams of seventh and eighth graders are not part of the recreation program, but play in the tournament.

On a Saturday morning in late January, the Kings were home against the team from Woodstock. The game began close with Claremont ahead 6-4 after the first six-minute quarter. But after that, the Kings slowly built a lead to win 22-10.

What pleased LeClair the most was not the win but the progress he saw in his players, who were showcasing skills they did not possess a month ago.

“Best part of the (first) half was when Lily (Haines) was in the paint, got open, got the ball and shot it,” LeClair said. “A month ago she probably doesn’t catch it and if she does, she panics and loses the ball.”

Other players, he said, can now dribble end-to-end, a major improvement from the first week when they could barely dribble at all.

LeClair also sees passing as the key to keeping everyone interested and involved.

“If you don’t get the ball, you are not going to want to play,” he said.

On the sidelines, it is clear that LeClair. who encourages, praises and instructs, but never yells, enjoys the coaching role, which he has been doing for about three years at elementary school level. Several of the players were coached by LeClair at the third and fourth grade level, including his daughter, Piper.

The players all get in the game and the play is often a little helter-skelter with loose balls and turnovers, which is fine with LeClair who said scoring and winning is secondary to learning the game.

“If you are too worried about winning you shouldn’t be coaching at this level,” LeClair said.

After the game, Lily, 10, gave her reason for playing.

“I like playing basketball because it is a team thing,” Lily said.

Another player, Saige Gaspard, 11, said the team concept also appeals to her.

“I really like basketball because you can be aggressive and it is a team sport and you can bond with your friends doing this,” Saige said.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.