Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to whip out your Goldfish jerseys once again because the annual Blythefield Basketball Association (BBA) is back up and running.

After a year’s pause due to covid, league commissioner Hazen Zainea was able to call the BBA back up for another year of competition. The league started in the late 1990s after a Rockford varsity player had been cut after being on the team the year prior. At the time, AAU wasn’t an option for most basketball players in the Grand Rapids area. So, it was time for the castaways to make a league of their own. As a result, the BBA now creates a gateway for amateur basketball players to showcase their abilities in a neutral setting.

During their sophomore years, seniors Maxime Larmande and Matthew Mittlestadt were both JV basketball players. This season, however, both of them were not added to the varsity roster. Now, Matthew is an active scoring leader of the league, not falling outside of the top five once all season. Larmande, on the other hand, continues to lead God’s Children in points when he is on the court.

“I got cut from varsity, and my friends were creating a team, so I decided to join,” spoke Larmande. “I simply want to demolish every team in BBA when I get out on the court.” 

Junior All-American lacrosse star Crandall Quinn has found another league to dominate in a less aggressive approach. Crandall continues to lead the league in rebounds with around 10 per game. Unlike both seniors who played during high school, Crandall never put on an FHC freshman, JV, or varsity basketball jersey. He may not have always seen basketball as a sport he would play in high school, but when his friends signed up for BBA, he was excited to join the Iron Ducks.

“I played basketball through middle school, and I got pulled up a sixth-grader and 7th grader,” Crandall said. “Then, I made the A team as an eighth-grader. I was also an AAU hooper in prime,” Crandall said. “I love winning. I love competition. I love destroying the other FHC teams; it’s a fun experience for everyone involved because it’s organized well.”

The BBA season kicks off with draft night affairs and dinner in early December. Each team has eight players and competes in 36 minute long games with two 18 minute halves. There are officials and a scores table with a live scoreboard in the church gym to help sell the authenticity of the league.

“Before the league begins, you kind of assemble a team, but then you have to go to a draft and pick that team,” Iron Ducks’ head coach Reese Le said. “So your players sign up, and they will be reserved for you to pick, but it’s just another aspect of the league that proves its legitimacy.”

Most importantly, it is a church league. The owners have always tried to establish the league because it’s 50 percent about basketball and 50 percent about god. So even though most of the game consists of basketball, each player will go to half court for a two-minute drill at halftime. This is where the owners will give quick two-minute services to tell how god will relate to everyone’s life.

“At halftime, both teams sit down while Hazen reads from the scriptures and brings both teams together through Christ,” senior Jack McNamara said.

Jack is a crucial member of God’s Children, as are fellow football player Carter Kelley and sports reporters Thomas Cobb and Noah Moore. The common theme in FHC’s BBA players is that all of them have been involved in athletics throughout their high school careers. Similarly, every player has played middle-school level basketball.

BBA is more than just a church league; it has brought back a huge group of athletes to a game they once thought they couldn’t play anymore. The BBA is mostly dominated by teams from Rockford High School since Magnify Church is located in Rockford. Nevertheless, FHC and GR Christian are also starting to set up roots in the league. FHC has several teams like G.C., Goldfish, the Iron Ducks, the River Rats, and the Reject Raiders.

Each team has its jerseys with its respective color, and each team has its specific ways of warming up pregame.

“Before every single game, all of our players ride in one car to the game. This allows us to maximize our chemistry. We listen to pump-up music such as ‘Mo Bamba,’ and right before the tip-off,” sounded off coach Le, “I like to let them know that success is earned, not given. I also like to give a pregame speech inspired by Jameis Winston about “Eating a W.”

As of now, the Goldfish remain on the top of the Eastern conference at 5-1. In the Western Conference, God’s Children sits right behind The Disciples at 5-1. Make sure to stay tuned into “woj_bba” on Instagram to follow live updates of the league.