This spring, members at the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) annual meeting voted in favor of extended summer contact between student-athletes and coaches, a change directly impacting the Milwaukee City Conference’s ability to host offseason programming. 

As a result of the amendment — which grants coaches and players the opportunity to voluntarily assemble without restriction from June 1-30 and July 7-31 — the MCC immediately looked to implement these changes, piloting a basketball league throughout June for both boys and girls teams. 

“This shift has been taking place in other states for quite some time,” said Avyanna Young, supervisor of Interscholastic Athletics and Academics. “I’m thrilled that we now have the ability to provide our student-athletes with more extensive summer coaching opportunities — beyond the previous five-day limitation.” 

Coaches and players alike were excited about this change, viewing the league as an opportunity for further improvement. As Vance Burnside Jr., head varsity girls basketball coach at Hamilton, explained, playing together in the league has allowed his team to build on the momentum from last season. 

“For us, it’s going to help a lot because we came off of 16 wins [in season], and we added a few pieces; it’s going to help us continue to grow and play together throughout the whole summer.”

Dyeiontai Perry, a rising junior on Bay View’s boys varsity basketball team, elaborated on this theme of development, adding, “When we’re all together, we’ve grown a lot. [This league] helps the guys improve.”

The implementation of the league is not only momentous for its representation of an evolving landscape in Wisconsin high school athletics, but also because the MCC’s ability to accommodate a girls program demonstrates the growing interest from female student-athletes to play competitive sports. Anthony Young, head varsity girls basketball coach at Rufus King, explained that the league is the first in over 20 years that provided an opportunity for girls programs to play throughout the summer, and participants were vocal about their gratitude for the experience. 

Jessiah Collins and Lamyah Hodges, two rising juniors on the Hamilton girls varsity basketball team, noted that the extra time spent playing together has aided them in preparing for their upcoming season while also addressing areas for improvement. 

“[The league] is cool; it’s helping to start the season next year,” said Collins. “We all have to get better at something, and with our team, we’re trying to move the ball more. We want to get everybody involved.”

For both players and coaches, the summer league was a success — team bonding, individual development and opportunities for growth were a few of the highlights emphasized by participants.