Y'S WOMEN GET HOOPS PROGRAM OF THEIR OWN

Lynne Baldwin’s shooting prowess helped launch the El Camino YMCA’s first women’s basketball program.

The Los Altos resident was shooting hoops there one night last summer when she caught the attention of YMCA Sports Specialist Brittany Taylor. The former college basketball player said she remembered watching Baldwin make three 3-pointers in a row before striking up a conversation with her.

“This Y staff person comes over and says, ‘Wow, you’re really draining them,’ and I said, ‘Oh, yeah, I play senior women’s basketball, and hi, who are you?’” Baldwin recalled. “So Brittany and I hit it off, and I said, ‘You know we’re always looking for more venues to play basketball.’”

Before long, Taylor told Baldwin she would talk to her boss about that. After the three met, the Y added a program titled “40+ Adult Women’s Basketball” last fall. It’s now a year-round program featuring four 12-week sessions. Open to ages 40 and up, the women play pick-up games 7:30-9 p.m. Thursdays.

“Having a women’s league was super exciting,” said Renee Zimmerman, the El Camino YMCA’s executive director. “We had a very long-standing men’s three-on-three league, but we’d never had an all-women’s league run by the Y.”

The program can accommodate up to 25 players; nearly that many women played in the winter session.

Taylor envisions the program growing to as many as 70 women who play each week on official teams instead of just in pick-up scrimmages.

“Who knows? Maybe we keep this going (and) we’ll have an 80-plus team someday,” player Beth Schneider said. “I want to play as long as my joints hold up.”

Everyone gets a chance to play in the rotating scrimmages; a team can play up to two games in a row before being replaced by a team waiting in the wings. Players on the sideline keep track of the clock and points.

The participants’ playing experience varies from beginner to college-level basketball.

“You have an incredible mix of players,” Baldwin said.

Schneider has been impressed with the quality of players and how they treat each other on the court.

“One (woman) played at Cal, one played at Arizona State,” the Los Altos resident said. “Everybody has so much fun and ... everybody takes into account that some people are slower and not as agile.”

For a few weeks last fall, members of the St. Francis High varsity girls basketball squad teamed up with the women in the program. Taylor, a St. Francis graduate and a basketball coach at the school, brought the girls in as volunteers. They worked drills with the women.

“That kind of intergenerational aspect is, I think, another unique approach and something that Brittany has brought to the program,” Zimmerman said.

Baldwin hopes the girls found the interactions with the women inspiring.

“We’re hoping to (show) people (their) age that if you want to play, there will always be opportunities to play,” Baldwin said. “I’m like a kid when I’m out there – it’s just this pure sense of joy. Everybody just has a great time, everybody cheers each other on, you can see the skills develop … and it’s just been a blast. It’s hard to even imagine my life before I had basketball on a regular basis.”

The program is open not only to YMCA members (who pay $15 for the 12 weeks), but also nonmembers ($60).

To join and for more information, email Taylor at [email protected].

Read the original story here:
https://www.losaltosonline.com/news/sections/sports/191-basketball/57697-y-s-women-get-hoops-program-of-their-own