In the past couple of years the popularity in recreational sports has been going “Upward.”
Upward is a non-profit organization that is provided all around the United States and also across some other countries like Canada, Brazil, South Africa, and Ukraine. Upward’s mission statement is, “promoting the discovery of Jesus through sports.”
Upward offers many different sports like basketball, soccer, volleyball, flag football, and cheerleading. Their biggest sport by far is their basketball program with seven million kids that have played over the past 30 years.
Upward has also been partnered with 5,000 different churches around the country since the start of the organization.
Depending on how many people sign up for a certain grade level, typically around 7-8 kids per team
The way that those teams are put together is from the open “tryouts” where the coaches of the teams see your skill level. Whenever all of the kids leave the tryout, the coaches draft their players out of everyone who tried out.
If somebody did not show up for the tryouts then they get put onto a random team.
I have played a total of three seasons of Upward basketball. I played two years when I was in elementary school and now I am playing this year in the high school league.
Throughout those few years of playing Upward basketball, there have been many different benefits from it.
The biggest benefit I have gotten from playing Upward is easily growing more and more relationships with other kids in the county.
I have made many stronger connections with some of the people that I have played with and even the ones that I play against. I still have multiple friends that I made over the years playing during elementary school.
Upward provides a way for students to play the game that they love, even if they are not good enough to play for a school team.
Some kids just don’t put in the same work as those who are on school teams, but those kids can still play without putting as much into it.
Anybody that is in the grade levels for the different Upward leagues can play, because everyone gets drafted to a team.
One benefit that nobody really thinks about when it comes to recreational sports is how much time it actually takes up.
At most playing Upward basketball takes two hours of my week, which is no time at all. You have one practice and one game a week and it is the perfect amount for just playing for fun.
Another bonus that Upward provides for the players and the community is how it brings them all together. Whenever you walk into the games at the church, there is always a crowd.
You see so many families that come together to watch their favorite players clash. After the game you see the players walk over to their friends that are either in the stands or even on the other teams. This type of organization helps build the community together.
Upward is an amazing organization that mends together the players with different skill levels that are often divided.
It helps your skills go up, brings the community together, and builds relationships with your friends.
