East Marietta Basketball is an all-volunteer competitive recreation league that has served the eastern half of Atlanta County for the past 45 years. The league consists of over 1,000 players on 122 teams, boys and girls ages 8-18, which represent 10 high schools and their feeder schools. While there is a cost to participate in the league, the entire administrative staff, board, and coaches volunteer in order to keep the costs as low as possible. Additionally, the president of the organization stated that 22 players were given the opportunity to play this season due to “a growing scholarship program that is funded by a partnership arrangement with the Atlanta Hawks on ticket sales as well as donations from coaches and families”.
Each of the 122 teams meets around 2-3 times per week during the season for practices and games. The pressure to win is reduced in favor of a teaching environment to learn the basics of the sport and execute a variety of drills and skills. Each boy’s age group is broken up into two levels, which allows each team to have similar athletes and develop a consistent level of play. No matter what team or level a player is on, they are taught to function “not only as players but as part of something bigger.”
While the coaches and staff are always busy teaching basketball, they still make time to teach life lessons to their players off the court through various types of community service. The league has led food drives, served food to the homeless, counseled youth at a camp for children with a parent in prison, and much more. In addition, East Marietta is a charter program within their county with the Coaching Boys Into Men program. This program discusses building healthy relationships, preventing violence, and other lessons important to becoming a man. The players love their experience with East Marietta so much that they often become coaches and mentors in the program as they get older. One of their former players even made it to the NBA, Jody Meeks of the Milwaukee Bucks!
East Marietta Basketball plans to use the Under Armour gift card to provide equipment for a sister organization in Atlanta County that has not been able to be successfully run due to lack of resources. The youth in this area have been left with no league to play in for the past 3 years so East Marietta will not only be providing organizational and scheduling support, but will also be providing equipment support thanks to the Under Armour gift card.
