Kim League Basketball

 

Kim League Basketball is counting down the days until the tournaments and end of the season. Thanks to all our parents, players, and fans for their support of our basketball program. It has been a challenging but successful year. We are very proud of the first GIRLS-ONLY leagues for the 3rd/4th grade and 5th/6th grades.

Please check out the following amended schedule for Feb 25th. Most game times stayed the same, but the venues have changed with games being played at Flint Springs and Lincoln Elementary as well as the Y.

Amended game schedule for February 25th

 

 

It is only fitting basketball is the favorite sport of so many Y members, since Basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith……at his local Y. Whether it is the adult noonball or kids playing pick-up games in the gym after school or our organized Kim League, basketball makes a large imprint in our Y. It is true that everyone and every program at the Y has a story….or many stories, the story of Kim League Basketball and how it got started showcases 2 of the most important figures in our Huntington YMCA history, Ez Williams and Kim Howenstine.

The Huntington YMCA Midget Basketball League was started by a gentleman named Ez Williams in 1959. Ez had a love for the game and for helping the youth of our community. The Y was lucky to have him step up and develop a basketball league for kids. Ez also had a disability. He was stricken with polio at a younger age and could only walk with the aid of braces on his legs. To climb the steep 21-step staircase to get up to the gym on the 2nd floor, he would brace a foot on either side of the staircase and use the hand railing to pull himself up each step. Once he got inside the gym, he sat at the scorer’s bench and kept score of every game. He knew every player and it was believed the high school coach would often ask his opinion on a player as he grew older and started playing at the high school.

Midget League basketball grew quickly at the Y. This is Indiana and every boy in the county had a basketball goal on their garage or barn. Getting to play at the Y on Saturdays was the reward for a hard week’s work. The impact of the league on the youth of the community was noteworthy as more and more kids participated each year.

One of the players that stood out to Ez was a young boy named Kim Howenstine. Kim was not the best player on the court, but he worked as hard as anyone. He had a real desire to get better. In 1964, during a game, Kim collapsed on the court. It was discovered that he had brain cancer and he passed a short time later. The following year, to honor Kim’s love of the game, the competition and the camaraderie, Mr Williams changed the name of the Midget League to the Kim League.

The Y has seen many changes over the past 45 years, but one thing has not changed, Kim League Basketball is still the most popular program we have. This past year over 400 kids participated in the old “Midget League”. The legacy of Ez Willams and Kim Howenstine lives through our Y and our Kim League.