City officials say that’s by choice, adding that no full courts will be built during Kettering’s ongoing park improvement program. Several city parks have a single basketball hoop on a half-court concrete pad.
Centerville, Huber Heights, Oakwood, Miamisburg, Vandalia and many other cities have full-court basketball in their city parks. Beavercreek and Englewood, like Kettering, do not.
Kettering Parks Director Mary Beth Thaman said there are several reasons for the decision — tensions that arise in heated pickup games, a lack of demand from residents and the city being hesitant to pave more park green space.
“I think the issue revolves around the competitiveness of pickup and open gym basketball,” Thaman said. “It can become heated, and that’s the nature of the game. With no referee, you can understand what can happen.”
Kettering police officer Michael Burke said he cannot recall police being called to altercations at basketball courts or open gym sessions at the Kettering Rec Center, but Thaman said rec center staff have to deal with agitated players.
“The NBA creates some of this jaw-mouthing and antics,” she said. “And you could be black, white, purple, green, polka-dotted, it’s just the nature of open-gym basketball anywhere in the United States.”
Kettering officials said their outdoor half-courts do get used, with City Manager Mark Schwieterman pointing to Wenzler Park near Fraze Pavilion as a site of frequent pickup games.
The few full courts that exist in Kettering are on school property. Some of those are in poor condition, with two rims missing behind Indian Riffle Elementary, and one basket support slightly bent at Oakview.
Ironically, the thing that most hurt outdoor basketball in Kettering might have been indoor basketball. Fairmont boys basketball coach Hank Bias said the multiple outdoor courts behind Fairmont High School were full of games for years, but Trent Arena was built in 2005 on that site.
Bias said he asked if an outdoor court could be built next to Trent (like Beavercreek has next to its arena) but he said he knew he was asking a lot given the investment in the arena.
“Our guys find a way to play, at Orchardly Park in Oakwood, or at the new Kroc Center,” Bias said. “If you’re a real baller, you’ll find a place to play, and if not, you can always be a driveway player.”
Thaman agreed that it may be hard to find a pickup game on a whim in Kettering, but she also said players have options.
“Basketball is pretty big in the Dayton area and ... if you want opportunities with basketball, we have them for you,” she said. “We have a lot of adult basketball leagues (in Kettering), and they’re well-run, with referees.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2278 or jkelley@DaytonDailyNews.com
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