Basketball in the Northland: a community account of the political economy and racial dynamics of youth basketball in a “hockey town”

Abstract

This article utilizes 27 in-depth interviews to explore the socio-cultural position, surrounding racial politics, and local economy of youth basketball in the somewhat novel setting of Northland—a mid-sized Midwestern city where hockey dominates the sporting landscape, indoor basketball facilities are relatively sparse, and snow coverage that frequently lasts more than half the calendar year hampers outdoor play. Narratives are primarily gathered from basketball community members (e.g., organizers, coaches, and former players) and connect with city histories of redlining, school redistricting, and regional deindustrialization in ways that inform present-day constructions of playing style, stereotyping, race, and rivalry, as well as the current horizons of opportunity and access for Northland youth. Our ground-up community-focused data foreground efforts and hurdles to providing effective mentorship and actualizing basketball's ethos of community wellness in this fold as this transpires against the increasingly higher stakes contours of youth sports broadly, which informs pertinent issues for player development, but contrasts the common tendency toward engaging these from elite levels downward, or within newer cultures of upper-/middle-class parenting. Ultimately, the descriptively rich ways and frequent starkness with which potential challenges regarding player interest, coaching, funding, and access—both in and out of the recent COVID-19 restrictions—come to bear through our grassroots approach at the unique intersections of Northland's weather, sports, and racial–political climates may clarify connections with similar issues elsewhere.