Playin' Up

The Christian Academy of Louisville pep section is in full voice, playfully taunting their team's opponent in a Saturday night varsity boys' basketball game. Athletes from CAL and Waggener sprint up and down the court trading scoring jabs. The Centurions wrestle the lead away from the Wildcats only briefly before Waggener snatches it back. This is high school basketball in Kentucky's largest city. And Westport middle schooler Lavonne Holland, Jr. has a court-side seat. Five minutes into the game, seven words from CAL announcer Lawrence Smith transform Holland from a spectator into a participant. "In for Waggener," intones Smith, "number ten, Lavonne Holland." The referee waves the 14-year-old into the fray. Holland walks onto the court with wide eyes and a confident gait. He tugs his red Waggener jersey into place allowing it to drape over his narrow shoulders. The boys in the CAL pep section will soon realize the kid with the skinny frame has an extra large game! Shortly after the eighth grader enters the contest, CAL junior guard Tim Henderson launches an unsuccessful jumper over the Waggener defense. Wildcat Jomari Bradshaw clears the rebound and the junior pushes the ball down the right side of the court. Across the way, Holland twists his slender body through the retreating CAL defenders. Bradshaw pauses near the free throw line and wraps a pass around his back and into the waiting hands of Holland. The youngest player on the court scores to put the Wildcats ahead, 26-25. Holland is playing up. He is among a considerable number of middle school athletes who compete on the high school level against players who are four or five years their senior. Holland was "discovered" as a seventh grader. He was playing basketball in the Waggener gym with several Wildcat players including his cousin, Dayvon Sloan. The maturity of his game was so evident, the Waggener coach at that time, Kevin Klein, invited Holland to play with the varsity team. "His mental aspect and his skills are right up there with us," says Sloan. The senior guard is one of the leading scorers in Kentucky basketball this season. Sloan provides Waggener with an average of 26 points per game as well as guidance and encouragement to his cousin and teammate. "He tells me to not be scared," says Lavonne, "to play how I was taught to play." "I feel like I've got a big responsibility to help him," says Sloan. "When he's out here, he's got to play like he's supposed to be out here on this level." "Lavonne is a very gifted basketball player," says Waggener coach Toby Curry, "and the older kids realized this from day one. Because he is so competitive and didn't back down from them, they accepted him and they know that him being on the varsity makes us a better team. Sloan has taken Holland under his wing and that made the transition for him much easier." Blending middle schoolers onto a high school roster can create challenges. Athletes who are driving cars, dating and making serious choices about colleges and careers are dealing with life issues that are far more complex than those facing 14-year-olds. Fairdale graduate Ceira Ricketts experienced some of those obstacles when she started playing varsity basketball as a sixth grader. "Some of the other girls didnʼt like me very well because I was getting their playing time," says Ricketts, who is in her first year playing college basketball at Arkansas. "I had to prove to them that they could trust me. I wasn't there to make them look bad. The coach would compliment me on something I did, and they would get mad at me because I was younger than them. I got discouraged when the older girls wouldn't pass me the ball. I felt like they didn't need me." The Razorbacks have certainly needed Ricketts this season. The freshman from Louisville has established herself as one of the best newcomers in the Southeastern Conference. "I think playing high school ball, playing up, really helped me get ready for the college level. It helped me play with older players." Ricketts and Curry say good parenting is one of the most important factors in determining if a prodigy is ready to move up to varsity. "Parents need to be mindful that the main difference from middle school to varsity is how physical the games and practices are," says the first-year Waggener coach. "Some kids simply aren't developed enough to handle the every day beating and banging." Holland's mother, Michelle, is a clinical nurse in Indianapolis. She often makes the two-hour drive to Louisville to keep an eye on her son's progress. "I am very attentive to other players and their attitudes," says Michelle. "I hear a lot of crowd comments about players. I am more into that than what the players do to him." Lavonne Holland, Sr. is also in the crowd tracking stats for his son and his nephew, Sloan. Holland, Sr. has trained his son to compete against players who are often larger but seldom more skillful. "Since he was three, I showed him the fundamentals," says Holland, Sr. "Before daycare, we would go out and work on his shooting. This is sort of like a plan to be this good. Our goal is to get him a basketball scholarship. I've told him there is no reason being good when you can be great." Holland, Sr. says, "Every parent thinks their child is a superstar--every one. But you have to be realistic. Every parent would like their kid to play up, but if their kid is not ready to play at that level, it will tear them down. It comes down to the mental part of it. If the parent is pushing it, and the child isn't ready, it will not work." "Parents need to talk with their kid and make sure she is mentally strong enough to handle what is said to her," says Ricketts. "The older girls will say harsh things. But they've got to brush it off and stay strong." And for those who play up successfully, the benefits can last a lifetime. "The upsides to playing up are the exposure the young player receives and also the leadership qualities these kids develop," says Curry. "Some of the best leaders I've ever seen were kids who started playing varsity at an early age and developed to the point where they were almost like a coach out on the floor their junior and senior years." "All the work I put in makes me ready to play this. I work hard," says Holland, Jr. "I want to get to college and play ball. My favorite team is Kentucky. I haven't heard from them yet." But college coaches have already heard about Lavonne Holland, Jr. because he is "playin' up."