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Ex-Ref
Joined: 04 Oct 2009 Posts: 9043
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NoDakSt
Joined: 26 Oct 2005 Posts: 4929
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Posted: 07/05/19 9:23 am ::: |
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I enjoy hearing stories like this. Growing up in rural Minnesota three decades ago there were a lot of small high school venues dotting thecountryside. My graduating class back in the early 80s consisted of 20 kids and the majority of us had gone to school together for 12 years. Crazily enough that small school is still open but similar sized schools have been torn down and students consolidated into larger academic communities as the small farmer and his/her small farm families sold out and moved away. Some of those small schools that had stood for 50 to 60 years had great charm and great character.
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GlennMacGrady
Joined: 03 Jan 2005 Posts: 8289 Location: Heisenberg
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Posted: 07/05/19 1:40 pm ::: |
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My high school, which was not in the rurals but in New York City (Staten Island), had a short court like that, where the mid-court line was not the half court playing line. In addition, the big side-to-side beams on the ceiling were so low that high arcing shots from the top of the key would sometimes hit them. Shooting from the corners was an especially necessary skill.
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willtalk
Joined: 13 Apr 2012 Posts: 1107 Location: NorCal
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Howee
Joined: 27 Nov 2009 Posts: 15765 Location: OREGON (in my heart)
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NoDakSt
Joined: 26 Oct 2005 Posts: 4929
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Posted: 07/07/19 6:30 pm ::: |
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at the school I was at, the bleachers only pulled out about 5 feet so for big games, we'd pull out our music risers and put them on the stage (which was behind one of the baskets and set about 40. Hairs on this.
We had one school that we competed at where the gym functioned as the lunch room so the kitchen abutted the gym. The locker rooms were behind the kitchen so we had to get dressed, walk through the school kitchen, and into the gym.
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ClayK
Joined: 11 Oct 2005 Posts: 11232
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Posted: 07/08/19 10:19 am ::: |
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So there's a really good team in the Bay Area, St. Joseph Notre Dame (where Jason Kidd went to high school).
They play in a small gym, and at one end is a stage. The visiting team always starts at that end, with the curtains closed.
SJND, as it's known, is one of the best teams in Northern California, but because of its size, plays in a very weak league, and every league game is a 50-point win. (Could be more if they wanted it to be ...)
So I bring my team in, knowing we're going to get crushed, and we warm up -- and then when the game starts, they open the curtain, so the background you've been practicing with is now changed. And for some games, there's a band on the stage too.
Clever, I guess, but why not save the gimmicks for good teams? And then we were getting pressed down 40 in the fourth quarter with SJND's starters.
Sorry ... I started rambling again ...
_________________ Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā
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myrtle
Joined: 02 May 2008 Posts: 32341
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Posted: 07/08/19 7:21 pm ::: |
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There's a gym in our area that looks like a barn and actually has 4 roof support posts that are on the playing court.
_________________ For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it.
- Amanda Gorman
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Ex-Ref
Joined: 04 Oct 2009 Posts: 9043
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Posted: 08/11/19 7:38 am ::: |
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I wonder if the author read the other story and decided to do this article about old gyms in his area. I've been in the Sidney gym, but not for bball game. I know where most of these towns are, but am not familiar with any of the gyms.
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Uneven floors with dead spots that would buckle when a basketball was dribbled on that spot. Low ceilings, wooden backboards, stages and bleachers that were literally as close to the playing court as possible. |
I played in gyms just like the author described in the quote. I remember one gym where they had us dress on the stage one year. That was way better than the last time we were there when we dressed in the basement locker room that smelled so bad we didn't even go there for halftime and then didn't bother to change after the game, we just rode home in our sweaty unis...in winter.
I think that is the same gym that the bleachers were elevated about 6' above the court, with a wall on both sidelines. The scorer sat in the bleachers and when we went to check in, some would have to jump up and wave their arms to get the attention of the scorer. There were benches on the floor for us to sit on, but we had to be careful to pull our feet off of the floor when play came over to the sideline. Oh, the good ol' days.
http://www.inkfreenews.com/2019/08/10/older-gyms-hold-memories-of-hardwood-encounters/?fbclid=IwAR0NAmJGq5-Cw3bpg-swi9ibN4LLQPKH057ylEidXViyO3tS32v_953HZrw
_________________ "Women are judged on their success, men on their potential. It’s time we started believing in the potential of women." —Muffet McGraw
“Thank you for showing the fellas that you've got more balls than them,” Haley said, to cheers from the crowd.
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willtalk
Joined: 13 Apr 2012 Posts: 1107 Location: NorCal
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Posted: 08/13/19 11:56 pm ::: |
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ClayK wrote: |
So there's a really good team in the Bay Area, St. Joseph Notre Dame (where Jason Kidd went to high school).
They play in a small gym, and at one end is a stage. The visiting team always starts at that end, with the curtains closed.
SJND, as it's known, is one of the best teams in Northern California, but because of its size, plays in a very weak league, and every league game is a 50-point win. (Could be more if they wanted it to be ...)
So I bring my team in, knowing we're going to get crushed, and we warm up -- and then when the game starts, they open the curtain, so the background you've been practicing with is now changed. And for some games, there's a band on the stage too.
Clever, I guess, but why not save the gimmicks for good teams? And then we were getting pressed down 40 in the fourth quarter with SJND's starters.
Sorry ... I started rambling again ... |
Sounds similar to the Bishop O'Dowd gym? Which one is larger?
_________________ No one one is ever as good as their best game, nor as bad as their worst.
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