Keegan Brown
Sports Editor
It’s a Tuesday afternoon at the Fulton YMCA. Tensions are high, and the referees are ready to call the shots. A fun atmosphere of high schoolers competing on the court to take home a win for their team with a competitive yet spirited game, especially against their rivals.
Twin City Conference is a basketball organization comprising teams from Street School, Saint Pauls, Centenary, and 1st Presbyterian. Executive Director for Street School, Mike Foster, culminated this odd bunch of teams from the formerly dormant Hoops For Him League, also known as Church Ball.
“Last year was our first year doing it,” Foster said. “With a 10-game schedule every Tuesday night.”
All throughout R.J. Reynolds, students have decided to spend some extra time playing basketball for some of these local churches. Some students from all ranges of grades partake in this afterschool activity, but the main rivalry among Reynolds students is between St. Pauls and Centenary.
One student who plays is junior Charlie Owens. As a player for St. Pauls, he gets to have fun with his friends and compete against those in the league.
“It’s definitely competitive because we have a lot of friends on the other teams,” Owens said. “Especially Centenary, so we want to go out and beat them every time we play.”
While St. Pauls doesn’t have student coaches, Centenary does. Not only are there Reynolds students who play, but there are also students who coach. Jacob Hollar, Duncan Brown, and Landon Fitzgerald are three of the coaches for the Centenary Twin City Conference team.
“Being a part of the Centenary team even though I was injured,” Fitzgerald said. “I just wanted to be a part of it.”
Even though both were injured, Hollar, Brown, and Fitzgerald wanted to participate in another way since they couldn’t be players for the team. As coaches, they can be involved with the players, their church, and others they play with. Throughout the season, many were excited to see the outcome between Centenary and St. Pauls. Centenary and St. Paul’s Instagram pages have grown this season for both teams, which has played a role in heightening competition and crowd numbers.
“It brings more supporters,” Fitzgerald said. “It drives you to be the MVP of the game.”
Although competitiveness is high amongst Reynolds students who play Twin City Conference, it also brings an easygoing aspect to the players and coaches. It is a nice break from school life.
“I’ve made fun memories,” player for St. Pauls and junior Hayes Smith said. “Being able to play basketball while joking around and having fun.”
Smith has experience, having played for the last two years. Even with the fierce games, he still enjoys playing alongside his teammates.
“Church ball makes me feel happy every time I play,” Smith said. “It’s always a good atmosphere when playing.”
Friendship is a key part of the Twin City Conference that impacts the teams. Foster is glad this league has fostered connections between kids who may never have interacted if not for the games.
“They go at it with heated trash talk during the games,” Foster said. “But it was neat to see as they played certain teams multiple times and see them talking to one another and probably make a friendship that wouldn’t have happened without this opportunity.”
This organization of players in church basketball brings the right competitiveness and fun that Reynolds students need during the school year. Although St. Pauls won the championship this year, only time will tell what the next season holds.