Snow Doesn't Stop 2nd Annual Kimball Classic
The Second Annual Walter Kimball Classic Youth Basketball League Jamboree held at the Methuen YMCA
Another snow storm did not keep YMCA basketball players from the court last Saturday. Hundreds of YMCA Youth Basketball League (YBL) players from the Lawrence, Methuen, and Andover/North Andover YMCA branches filled the gymnasium at the Methuen YMCA on Saturday, March 1 for the second annual Kimball Classic, a basketball jamboree of 5- and 6-year-old basketball players. The Jamboree was named for YMCA Vice President Walter Kimball, honoring him as one of the “founding fathers” of YBL at the Merrimack Valley YMCA which begin in the early 1970s. In 1973, the YMCA of the USA entered into a partnership with the NBA Players Association and started the Youth Basketball Association (YBA). This effort started hundreds of youth basketball programs in YMCAs around the country and marked the first YMCA effort to train professional and volunteer leaders to conduct youth sports programs. Walter Kimball took part in this program and started a YBA program at the Lawrence YMCA. The YMCA of the USA’s affiliation with NBAPA ended in the 1980s and then the program changed its name to YBL (Youth Basketball League). Over the last thirty years, the Merrimack Valley YMCA has hosted thousands of youth in this instructional league. This program is for boys and girls ages 5-14 years old. YMCA basketball is a unique program where coaches stress the development of the child rather than competition. The main goals of the program are: skill development, personal development, fair play, fitness, character development and fun. Coaches do not focus on winning and losing. The focus is on learning skills, participation and fun.
