Youth basketball is alive and well in Midlothian these days – along with an adult league now.
You could say the sport has been “re-Planted,” as in founder and president Riley Plante leading a resurgence in youth basketball in the city with the Midlothian Basketball League, which is in its second year. The sport had been floundering in a previous league.
“The difference between Midlothian Basketball League and any other recreational basketball league comes down to a couple of things. First, our organization highly values service to our parents/guardians of the players. We communicate thoroughly, and we do our best to answer every inquiry that our organization is sent,” Plante said.
“Secondly, we highly value the positive environment on our gamedays and tournaments. From the player intros to the music, to the experience of the halftime contests, we desire to make the events fun for the whole family.”
Plante believes each player should feel valued within the program. That is the league’s primary goal.
“While our organization has plenty of room for improvement, we are extremely happy with the programs that we have introduced to the community,” he said.
The first youth winter season was in January 2022. The league had 316 players register with age divisions from grades 1-6. The second youth season was hosted in June of 2022 and participation almost doubled with around 600 players participating from Kindergarten through eighth grade.
The youth’s third season is underway, and the registration is right around 1,000 kids and 96 teams participating.
“We have had massive growth to say the least,” Plante said.
In fact, in the summer of 2022 the program decided to add an adult league.
Midlothian Basketball Adult League is 18+
“The adult league will be 18-plus. We are going to gauge the participation this first go-round with the adults and work towards making different age divisions,” Plante said. “For example, we would love for there to be enough participation on the adult side to have a 20’s, 30’s, and 40-plus age divisions. For this inaugural season it will be all age adults 18-plus.”
Plante said the decision to add adults came after the community saw how much fun the kids were having. It started with an adult outdoor 3v3 street league at one of the city parks.
“That was a huge success and a lot of fun. From the 80-plus adults who participated in the street league, we were able to gauge interest to host an indoor adult 5v5 league,” he said.
“So that’s what it has developed into at this point. We will be hosting the Adult League events at The Old Gym on Sunday afternoons/evenings.”
When does the season start? How many teams are you expecting to have this year?
The Youth league runs from January to March. The adult league started in mid-March.
The historic Old Gym, which recently underwent renovation, is the home of the league games and it proved to be a popular decision. The Old Gym is a project that was put together by a private 501(c)3 along with funding from the Midlothian Community Development Corporation.
The Midlothian Basketball League has partnered with The Old Gymnasium Project to rent the new facility for both practices and games throughout the week. They have also introduced a low-cost skills training program that takes place on Sunday afternoons for players who are needing additional training and help. The facility is located at 700 West Avenue H, Midlothian, TX.
For the adult league, registration is $100 per player. Youth registrations runs between $100 for the summer mini-season and $145 for the longer winter season, which includes a full uniform.
Scholarships are available where there is a need. Registration details can be found at www.midlothianbasketball.com.
