News
ENLARGE
After two and a half months in, I haven't quite infiltrated the Nevada County sports scene.
There are two simple reasons: I'm not that much of a drinker to be found in sports bars and I can't seem to find a pickup game, an open gym or a basketball court without puddles.
There's a good reason for the absence of such amenities: They don't exist.
In the day and age of online search engines and Internet directories detailing the lives of Americans, their businesses and hobbies, it would appear that the only kind of hoops happening on this patch of grass known as Grass Valley is that of the Nevada Union Miners, and by extension Bear River and Forest Lake Christian.
There is absolutely zero marketing put into the adult recreation league for basketball. It's almost as if people didn't want you, or me, to know it existed.
And that's very close to the truth.
So like any journalist, feeling wrongs being committed upon the community, I began to dig.
I identified the main characters in the equation, the main sites and the logistical problems of my expectations. It turns out, trying to get my ball on is all about dollars and cents, politicizing the area's recreation.
Big surprise, right?
What most of the concerned public already knows is that Sierra Foothill High, formerly known as Empire High School, is the epicenter of recreational play. There is volleyball six months of the year, youth leagues year round and adult basketball three months of the year.
What most people don't know is that for a guy like me to get involved, it would cost $1,000 per team, or about $100 each for a 10-man team.
Yup, a solid grand.
Funny thing is, the folks that participate - 19 teams garnering almost 160 athletes a year - "don't bat an eye" at the money because it's the only place to play, says Bill Southworth, the adult basketball coordinator for Grass Valley.
During their three months, the adult league basketball players still share the gym with the senior league - which takes up two days of the week's gym time - youth leagues and Nevada Union's boys freshman basketball team which practices there five days a week. When it's all said and done, the adult league is looking at three days a week and limited hours.
"What's the point of advertising?," Southworth remarks. "Every year, when I tell somebody $1,000, I cringe. It sucks because I feel bad. I can't kick out some teams who have been here since the beginning and I've only got so much space for new teams.
"Every year, I have to tell 50 guys they can't get in who have the money. And then, there are one-to-two teams who drop out because they can't pay."
The problem for the basketball league, and invariably all of the recreation leagues, is renting space at Sierra Foothill. The school is owned by Nevada Joint Union High School District, so it costs per hour while the teams are playing.
In addition, Southworth said the league pays for referees, scorekeepers, bookkeepers and janitors to keep things proper. The end result is games that cost $95 a pop. With two games per week, split up among 19 teams in a 20-game season, it brings the overhead cost at a little more than $15,000.
And here I am thinking about finding cheap ways to stay in shape. So my focus shifted to alternatives.
Calls to Grass Valley and Nevada City park and recreation heads went unreturned but Auburn's Jerry Fisher, the sports coordinator for the city's recreation department, informed me of the sweet deals down the hill.
"We have open gym at Recreational (gym) noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday and Friday and at Regional (gym) Monday, Wednesday, Friday, noon to 2 p.m.," Fisher said.
They also have some availability Sunday (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.). But the best part is it doesn't cost a dime and getting into an Auburn recreation league only costs $390 per team for a 10-game season. That's open gym time and a low-cost recreation league, albeit a short one.
Add a $5 non-resident fee, and I've got a court to play on.
The main difference between those down the hill and us living on it is the lack of recreation space. The facilities in Auburn are dedicated to the parks and recreation, owned by the city. From what I've gathered, Grass Valley simply doesn't have the space for gym rats to play. And getting one would probably require raising some sort of taxes.
So would it be far-fetched to go down the hill and spend some dollars outside our local economy in another recreation league?
I don't think so, but I'd be hard pressed to come up with a justification based on something other than available space. And then I look at the dollar signs and my mind is made up. The drive is worth it.
ooo
Zuri Berry is a sports writer at The Union. His column appears Wednesdays. Contact him via e-mail at zberry@theunion.com or by phone at 477-4244. You can also read his blog online at TheUnion.com.
There are two simple reasons: I'm not that much of a drinker to be found in sports bars and I can't seem to find a pickup game, an open gym or a basketball court without puddles.
There's a good reason for the absence of such amenities: They don't exist.
In the day and age of online search engines and Internet directories detailing the lives of Americans, their businesses and hobbies, it would appear that the only kind of hoops happening on this patch of grass known as Grass Valley is that of the Nevada Union Miners, and by extension Bear River and Forest Lake Christian.
There is absolutely zero marketing put into the adult recreation league for basketball. It's almost as if people didn't want you, or me, to know it existed.
And that's very close to the truth.
So like any journalist, feeling wrongs being committed upon the community, I began to dig.
I identified the main characters in the equation, the main sites and the logistical problems of my expectations. It turns out, trying to get my ball on is all about dollars and cents, politicizing the area's recreation.
Big surprise, right?
What most of the concerned public already knows is that Sierra Foothill High, formerly known as Empire High School, is the epicenter of recreational play. There is volleyball six months of the year, youth leagues year round and adult basketball three months of the year.
What most people don't know is that for a guy like me to get involved, it would cost $1,000 per team, or about $100 each for a 10-man team.
Yup, a solid grand.
Funny thing is, the folks that participate - 19 teams garnering almost 160 athletes a year - "don't bat an eye" at the money because it's the only place to play, says Bill Southworth, the adult basketball coordinator for Grass Valley.
During their three months, the adult league basketball players still share the gym with the senior league - which takes up two days of the week's gym time - youth leagues and Nevada Union's boys freshman basketball team which practices there five days a week. When it's all said and done, the adult league is looking at three days a week and limited hours.
"What's the point of advertising?," Southworth remarks. "Every year, when I tell somebody $1,000, I cringe. It sucks because I feel bad. I can't kick out some teams who have been here since the beginning and I've only got so much space for new teams.
"Every year, I have to tell 50 guys they can't get in who have the money. And then, there are one-to-two teams who drop out because they can't pay."
The problem for the basketball league, and invariably all of the recreation leagues, is renting space at Sierra Foothill. The school is owned by Nevada Joint Union High School District, so it costs per hour while the teams are playing.
In addition, Southworth said the league pays for referees, scorekeepers, bookkeepers and janitors to keep things proper. The end result is games that cost $95 a pop. With two games per week, split up among 19 teams in a 20-game season, it brings the overhead cost at a little more than $15,000.
And here I am thinking about finding cheap ways to stay in shape. So my focus shifted to alternatives.
Calls to Grass Valley and Nevada City park and recreation heads went unreturned but Auburn's Jerry Fisher, the sports coordinator for the city's recreation department, informed me of the sweet deals down the hill.
"We have open gym at Recreational (gym) noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday and Friday and at Regional (gym) Monday, Wednesday, Friday, noon to 2 p.m.," Fisher said.
They also have some availability Sunday (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.). But the best part is it doesn't cost a dime and getting into an Auburn recreation league only costs $390 per team for a 10-game season. That's open gym time and a low-cost recreation league, albeit a short one.
Add a $5 non-resident fee, and I've got a court to play on.
The main difference between those down the hill and us living on it is the lack of recreation space. The facilities in Auburn are dedicated to the parks and recreation, owned by the city. From what I've gathered, Grass Valley simply doesn't have the space for gym rats to play. And getting one would probably require raising some sort of taxes.
So would it be far-fetched to go down the hill and spend some dollars outside our local economy in another recreation league?
I don't think so, but I'd be hard pressed to come up with a justification based on something other than available space. And then I look at the dollar signs and my mind is made up. The drive is worth it.
ooo
Zuri Berry is a sports writer at The Union. His column appears Wednesdays. Contact him via e-mail at zberry@theunion.com or by phone at 477-4244. You can also read his blog online at TheUnion.com.
