Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
January 19, 2001, Washington Post

It's High Time

Last weekend I went to a basketball game. My 12-year-old daughter, Kerry, and her friend Rachel came too.

We had great seats. Near center court, about six rows from the floor.

We saw a terrific game filled with high-flying, end-to-end action. Both squads battled down to the wire until the home team pulled away for the win in the fourth quarter.

Was it a Wizards game? Nope.

Georgetown Hoyas? No. But with a 16-0 record they are definitely a team to see!

How about University of Maryland? No way, the Terps are sold out for the season.

Give up?

It was the Blair Blazers against the Magruder Fighting Colonels. High school basketball.

And Kerry and Rachel loved it. High school basketball games are perfect for kids. You can sit up close and really see all the action. The lightning-quick crossover dribbles, the push and pull for position under the basket, the soft arc of the three-point shot.

Watching high school stars will help you learn the game too. It's hard for any 10-year-old hoopster to learn much from a 6-foot-7 NBA point guard. But high school players are just regular (and regular-size) kids. The Magruder Fighting Colonels have one of the best teams around and they didn't start a single player who was taller than 6 feet 2.

And that's really the point. Playing high school sports is not some crazy dream for kids. Only a few players make it to the pros, but lots of kids in elementary school and middle school go on to play on their high school teams.

When I talked last year to DeMatha High School basketball coach Morgan Wootten -- now a Hall of Famer -- he estimated 800,000 kids play hoops for high school teams.

Kerry, Rachel and I were watching boys basketball, but our next outing is to see a high school girls game. While there is no professional women's basketball to watch on TV in the winter, there is plenty of girls basketball action at area high schools.

And, by the way, another great thing about high school basketball is the ticket price. My ticket to the Blair-Magruder game was $4. Kerry and Rachel got in for $2 apiece. For that kind of money we could see 20 high school games for the price of a courtside seat at one Wizards game.

So check out the boys and girls basketball schedules in today's Post Sports section. Pick a game and persuade your parents to take you.

High school basketball is the best ticket in town.

FRED BOWEN is the author of sports novels for kids. Write to him at KidsPost,
1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071. Or e-mail (with "The Score" in the
subject field): kidspost@washpost.com.

© 2001 The Washington Post Company