What is a Rep Basketball / Player in Ontario ?

What is a Rep Basketball / Player in Ontario ?

The question of what a Rep Basketball Team actually is has come up lately in regards to what makes a team worthy of the the title "REP TEAM".. over the years this has become confusing with the explosion of Basketball in Ontario and the # of Clubs and Teams popping up almost under your feet and on every corner in any gym they can fit in.

When a young boy in Mississauga in say 1992 said he played "REP" you could easily assume #1 he was a Monarch and #2 one of the best players in the city at that age and a elite player with skill and experience back then it was a big deal to have the Orange Monarch's shorts with the Crown it meant you were a Prince among boys on the basketball court at the YMCA or any outside court in the city. 

With the growth of Basketball in the GTA via the OBA and AAU Club Basketball the criteria for a "Rep Player" has changed the skill of many of the players has improved and with more clubs more and more kids are getting in the gym with the opportunity to play but with this new army of "Rep Players" there are many in the army who simply should not be playing "Rep" they are under trained players with fancy Uniforms and Shoes who may be put on a team to fill a roster spot or keep the team budget at a certain level. Many of the young boys and girls playing "Rep" should be in a good city league or training to make one of the top teams in the city.  In the early years of the OBA there was no such thing as Division 9-10-11-12 .. and so on why the sudden change ?

All of the Rep Divisions have watered down the term "Rep Player" these 2 words do not mean your a good player who plays on a great team it really for many simple means you pay to play Basketball and you have to go to practice 2x per week and drive all over Ontario searching for competition equal to your skill level high or low.

We believe a Rep Team & Players should all have a fundamental grasp of the game and its basic skills at a level suitable for competition given there age group & all player should be skilled and physically fit to compete in there age group. 

The sad truth is there are more than a few pay to play teams out there who are offering the kids an experience but not the training to fully enjoy the experience of really playing "Rep Basketball"

and these kids will find out the hard way very soon when the kid next door who barely plays ball plays them 1 on 1 one and beats them 11-4.. 

Post Game Banter : 

Kid Next Door : "I thought you played Rep Ball Bro"

Rep Kid : "I thought I did too..."

The End...