Boys CYC basketball begins this week in diocese

BY BILL DOYLE 

CFP CORRESPONDENT 

CYC basketball begins Saturday, but, unfortunately, there won’t be any girls teams in the Worcester Diocese this winter and there will be only half the number of boys teams as usual. 

“A lot of that is COVID related,” said Timothy Messenger, director of the diocese’s Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. 

The ministry hasn’t ever had a girls league, but it tried to start one this winter. Mr. Messenger said only one parish expressed interest in forming a girls team. 

The diocese also tried in vain to form a girls league a few years ago.  

“We’ll definitely keep trying,” Mr. Messenger said. 

Restarting boys basketball after taking a year off proved to be more challenging than expected. Mr. Messenger said only 10 teams registered, half as many as played two years ago. (The diocese cancelled basketball last winter because of the pandemic.) Finding coaches was difficult as well. With so few teams, there will be only one division instead of two. 

“We’ll have a smaller season,” Mr. Messenger said. “I’m hoping as we continue and get out of COVID, it builds back up.” 

Mr. Messenger said the uncertainty of what the COVID protocols would be may have kept some high school students from registering. The diocese plans to follow the same protocols as the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, which requires high school student-athletes to wear masks during basketball games.  

The CYC boys basketball league may be smaller than hoped, but at least it has begun its way back. 

“Anything is better than last year when we didn’t have a season,” Mr. Messenger said. “My No. 1 goal was to just get enough teams to have a season and get back up and going. It may take another year or two to build it back up to where it was.” 

If the pandemic forces the MIAA to postpone games, Mr. Messenger said the diocese will as well, but he hopes the games can be played. 

“It’s certainly one more way to get back to a sense of normalcy,” he said, “which is what we’ve been trying to do for the last two years now. Kids being inside and not being around as much in a social environment as before, I think getting back to that (CYC basketball) is good for mental health and also for getting kids connected to their friends, to their parish, to the church.” 

“It’s about getting the kids out there,” said George Valery, who assigns officials and schedules the games, “the camaraderie, playing together, meeting friends from other schools.” 

The ministry hopes playing CYC basketball prompts high school students to become more involved in the Church. Before each game, CYC teams pray together at center court.   

Although registration is closed, if someone is interested in playing, Mr. Messenger said he might be able to find a spot on a team. Contact him at tmessenger@worcesterdiocese.org. 

St. Matthew Parish of Southborough has registered three teams. St. Rose of Lima Parish of Northborough has registered two. St. George Parish of Worcester and St. Mary Parish of Holden combined to register two. Christ the King, Blessed Sacrament and St. John parishes, all of Worcester, each registered one team. St. Mary Parish of Shrewsbury usually has several teams, but didn’t register any this winter. 

CYC basketball begins on Saturday, Jan. 8, and Sunday, Jan. 9, and runs through February. All games will be played on weekends in the gym at St. Bernard Church of Our Lady of Providence Parish in Worcester.  

The New England Qualifying Tournament for boys and girls in grades five through eight at Catholic schools will be held at St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury the first two weekends in March. If interested in playing, contact Mr. Messenger at tmessenger@worcesterdiocese.org. 

Considering what has already happened with the CYC volleyball league, there is hope that basketball will rebound. Mr. Valery said the diocese’s outdoor high school co-ed volleyball program was a huge success last summer on the outdoor courts at St. Christopher Church in Worcester and St. Joseph Church in Charlton. 

“The uptick in participation in volleyball has been unbelievable,” he said. “It’s really a great take.”