Finding a good spot to get a good pick-up game in Boston often proves difficult. Credit: Getty Images
Picture this:
You just left your 9-to-5 job where your boss was on your case all day. It’s still nice out, and you’re ready to blow off some steam on the basketball court.
You zip home, grab your sneakers and head to the nearby court. Five-on-five would be perfect right now.
You show up … and you have the court to yourself. Looks like you’ll be practicing free throws again.
This is unfortunately the case for far too many people living in and around Boston.
But Steve Zavaski hopes to change that.
Zavaski, a life-long basketball junkie, had enough of wasted days and nights playing H.O.R.S.E or lame 3-on-3 games. He wanted to be able to show up to a court and get a solid game in.
So he’s taking matters into his own hands.
Zavaski has started a website – www.bballtillyoufall.com (Click here to view site) – that he hopes will become the go-to site for serious basketball players in Boston. The goal is simple: Allow basketball players the “who, when, and where” knowledge they need to get some run.
“I love basketball. Whether it’s watching, playing, coaching, I love the game,” Zavaski said. “This inspired me to start my own site, which offers folks a free schedule of the top places to play pickup basketball in the Boston area.
“Essentially, I want to make it as easy as possible for competitive basketball players in the Boston area to get together for organized pickup play on a frequent basis. With my research, there really are no websites that provide this type of info, so I’m looking forward to starting this ‘basketball community’ and making it simple for guys to get together for some solid hoops.”
The idea was recently born, and the website is still somewhat in the beginning stages, but the more people who sign up for Zavaski’s free newsletter – the source of the needed information for that day – the more courts will fill up this spring.
“You can get your personal schedule of the top pickup basketball games in various locations in Boston directly from the homepage,” Zavaski said. “I have given two options: One for full-time employees who can only play from 5 p.m. on, and the other for college students who have a lot of free time during the day.”
Also on the website, a basketball blog run by Zavaski, and a list of top men’s basketball leagues in the Boston area, with links to each league’s site.
Zavaski hopes players will “like” Bball Till You Fall’s Facebook page as well. This will hopefully lead to players “checking in” to courts upon arrival, and provide yet another way for competitive players to get together. Social media could prove to be essential for the idea to work, utilizing Facebook and Twitter updates throughout the day.
“Ultimately, I want to create a basketball community across Boston where people get to know one another on a personal basis and create new friendships that last on and off the court,” Zavaski said. “There is a large network of basketball players in Boston and I want Bball Till You Fall to make it easy to bring this network together and ensure it is simple to play competitive pickup basketball games on a regular basis.”
