[04-03-2020, New York]: Staten Island Basketball League started as the Brooklyn Athletic League in Brooklyn, New York. It changed later to Staten Island Basketball League when the group decided to cross the Verrazano Bridge and set up a full-court on the other side. They acquired a gym there that has been going on for eighty years or so.

Everyone is aware of the fact that basketball is a game revered all over America. If someone in the US says that he/she doesn’t like the sport, then he/she is committing blasphemy, to say the least. Basketball Staten Island has been a haven for older players who can’t keep up with the aggressive and somewhat selfish tricks employed by the young players of these days. Besides, playing outdoors under the sun and on concrete arenas in schoolyards is too much for seasoned veterans. They require a more comfortable environment to show off their skills.

While age gets the better of every living creature, it couldn’t take away the spirit of those players who retired. Basketball players say that they don’t feel alive if they can’t take part in the game anymore. It is the same reason that led to the foundation of the Staten Island Basketball League. Craig Raucher, the founder, nurturer, and manager of this league has been doing an excellent job all these years.
He said, “I’m a 62-year-old man with long and prosperous history in the basketball court. I’m the founder and commissioner of the Staten Island Basketball League and I have been organizing college basketball for 52 years. I underwent several knee surgeries due to injuries I sustained while playing. Eventually, I had no other option but to replace them both as the pain was getting unbearable and the quality of my life was depreciating. As an athlete who is becoming old, I found that basketball and all those exercises associated with the game acted as a shield.”

He further added, “I feel like talking about myself, but people out there who love this game and want to play it again after retirement should know about States Island Basketball League. It is much more important than me, after all. We have been arranging Pick Up Basketball matches and other formats of the game for years. Many players come together under our roof every Wednesday night and Saturday morning. By looking at them, anyone will say that they resemble religious fanatics more than players. More than four hundred players walked through the doors of the old gym and Staten Island Basketball League has been operating for over forty years.

About Staten Island Basketball League

The well-renowned Staten Island Basketball League is at Public School 8 in Great Kills, Staten Island. Craig Raucher founded Staten Island Basketball League in 1980.