[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/in-the-news-hoops-league-makes-giant-strides-with-faulkners-contribution\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/in-the-news-hoops-league-makes-giant-strides-with-faulkners-contribution\/","headline":"IN THE NEWS: Hoops League makes giant strides with Faulkner\u2019s contribution","name":"IN THE NEWS: Hoops League makes giant strides with Faulkner\u2019s contribution","description":"Faulkner University hosts Hoops League for their Championship tournament. Written by Art Parker\/ Montgomery Indpendent All things big usually start small. And so it is true of the Hoops League. John David Barranco started the league almost five years ago…","datePublished":"2020-02-27","dateModified":"2020-02-27","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/rburylo\/#Person","name":"Rebecca Burylo","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/rburylo\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37a0c97fbd1eda89e38697defcaf0573?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37a0c97fbd1eda89e38697defcaf0573?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Faulkner University","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","width":480,"height":128}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6578-resized.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6578-resized.jpg","height":1154,"width":1732},"url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/in-the-news-hoops-league-makes-giant-strides-with-faulkners-contribution\/","about":["News"],"wordCount":519,"articleBody":"Faulkner University hosts Hoops League for their Championship tournament.Written by Art Parker\/ Montgomery Indpendent All things big usually start small. And so it is true of the Hoops League.John David Barranco started the league almost five years ago to provide a basketball opportunity to boys and girls first through sixth grade. With help from others, especially Pike Road basketball coach Robb McGaughey, the league has grown tenfold since its inception.READ MOREOn Saturday morning one will see, for example, a girls team from Montgomery Academy\u2019s playing their future high school rivals \u2013 girls from Trinity, or Saint James, etc. Currently the Hoops League has about 700 kids participating. There are 97 total teams from 21 different schools.A major change happened this year in the Hoops League. Faulkner University stepped to the plate and made its facilities available on Saturday mornings. The impact of Faulkner\u2019s involvement has been tremendous. Prattville Christian Academy basketball coach, Jason Roberson, coaches one of the teams in the Hoops League. Roberson said, \u201cFaulkner\u2019s contribution has meant so much. It has enabled us to grow and added another great place for the kids to play.\u201dIt turned out that Faulkner was looking for the Hoops League as much as the Hoops League was looking for Faulkner. \u201cWe learned about the Hoops League and their need for space. We were looking for ways to invest in the community and thought it would be a perfect partnership,\u201d Dr. Mike Williams, President of Faulkner University said. The impact of the university\u2019s contribution was immediate. Another local high school coach, Katie Barton of Saint James said, \u201cThe Hoops League is great exposure for basketball. They can learn the game at a young age and have fun. What Faulkner has done is help take the Hoops League to another level. We have several courts we can use at Faulkner and that has helped greatly,\u201d Barton explained. Faulkner enabled the Hoops League to play two games at a time in one facility and another in the main gym \u2013 all at the same time. Baranco said that eased a huge burden from the league and made growth possible.Faulkner is no stranger to investing in the local area, especially youth. The university has experienced success over the past four years with providing assistance to Davis Elementary School. \u201cWe have worked alongside Davis Elementary and our students have been able to provide mentoring and other assistance, such as soccer clinics,\u201d Williams said. \u201cWe are always looking for teaching opportunities for our students here at Faulkner.\u201dTo top it all off, Faulkner took the extra step for the Hoops League by making a special championship night for the little Hoopsters. The university brought in its actual game announcer and game day management team, and provided all of the game day bells and whistles. In other words, they made the championship night for the kids in the Hoops League extra special. \u201cWe wanted to make it just like the big guys were playing,\u201d Williams said.READ MOREFor more information on the league, visit its Web site at www.hoopsleague.us."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"IN THE NEWS: Hoops League makes giant strides with Faulkner\u2019s contribution","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/in-the-news-hoops-league-makes-giant-strides-with-faulkners-contribution\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]