When Josh LaPrell was a freshman at Edward Little High School, his neighbor recruited him to help coach a youth team in Auburn. Since that first season, he has become immersed in youth basketball, and was recently hired as the youth sports director at the Y.

While many youth sports are seeing a decline in numbers, the Auburn programs continue to grow. “I think it’s because of our reputation for being a place where kids have fun, learn the game and we are not overly competitive. It’s nice when you win, but the coaches – many who have done it for years – just want the kids to have a positive experience.”

Every Saturday, starting at 11:30 a.m., the rookie program hosts a one-hour game, the first organized competition many kids experience. “We pack the gym. The kids can’t wait to get here, but I think the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings have more fun. Everybody roots for both teams and it’s all good.”

In addition to all the paperwork needed to keep everything running smoothly, LaPrell coaches and helps coordinate more than a dozen teams, and referees another half-dozen each week.

“It’s so rewarding to see the look on a kid’s face when they make their first basket. Seeing the same on a parent’s face, so proud. That’s what it’s all about.”

LaPrell has had a chance to watch many young athletes grow up and flourish as high school or college players, but one of his favorite moments came last year during a game for the travel team he coached.

Some of the players who came up through the program were about to move on to the next, more competitive level. “When you are growing up practicing all those years, fooling around in the gym, you are always pretending time is running out,” he said. Pretending your team is “down by a basket and you take the last shot. It goes in and the place goes wild!”

Well, “we were down by two with three seconds left. I called a timeout and we set up a play. It worked, but Andrew Gosselin went much farther than we planned and ended up taking a three-pointer. The buzzer went off and the ball went in. We won. It was like you dream about all growing up, and it just happened.”