The De Soto Board of Education recently praised a group of parents for starting De Soto Youth Basketball, a co-ed program for elementary school-age boys and girls. In its first year, 110 students from kindergarten through fifth grade took part.
De Soto Junior High math teacher Hillary Hensley, De Soto High girls basketball coach James Fox and parents Kayla and Pat Singer worked together to start the program in 2025.
“We just wanted the kids to get their hand on a basketball, help build our high school programs and give youth something to do,” said Hensley, who has children in the second and fourth grade.
The parents noticed few De Soto youth were playing basketball.
“For probably four years, we’ve had two or three AAU (youth basketball) teams participating in the Mineral Area League,” said Hensley, who, along with Kayla Singer and Fox, coaches AAU teams. “We’re like, ‘Man, 10 kids in two or three teams? What can we do to really get kids involved in basketball? We need something here.’ We have a wonderful youth soccer program that really draws kids from the entire Jefferson County area, so we’re like, ‘Let’s do that. Why can’t we do that?’”
Hensley said the first step was to get liability insurance to use the gym at Vineland Elementary School. The organizers raised money by holding two summer sessions of basketball camp, drawing about 50 youth participants.
The basketball program’s practices began in mid-October, with games the first three weekends of November.
“We had 110 kids participate this year,” Hensley said. “I hope we hit 200 or 250 next year. I hope that we need two gyms (Athena and Vineland elementary schools). That means a lot more undertaking on Saturday mornings. We’re going to have to divide and conquer, but it’s what’s good for kids and good for the program.”
Hensley said holding the practices and games in De Soto is what has made the program successful.
“Practices were in town at their schools,” Hensley said. “Games were in town. They were not having to travel. First through fifth graders practiced one night a week and had games on Saturday mornings. Our kindergartners practiced for a half-hour on Saturday mornings and then played a game for a half-hour on Saturday mornings.”
Hensley said the organizers hope to keep the program affordable for parents. Last year, the cost was $30, which included a T-shirt. She hopes the cost will remain the same this year.
“We had high school kids ref our games,” she said. “It helped keep our costs down because we don’t have to pay refs, and they’re contributing to building a program.”
Hensley said youngsters do not have to attend De Soto schools to be part of the program.
“I would say 98 percent of our kids were De Soto students, but we had a few from surrounding schools as well,” she said.
Open registration for the program will be held in early September. Practices will start in mid-October with games in November. Information about registration will be posted on the De Soto Youth Basketball Facebook group page and provided to parents at the two De Soto elementary schools.
A skills camp will be held in late April or early May, she said.
Hensley said the program could use more volunteers.
“The biggest need we have is for volunteer coaches. We had some kids who had just graduated volunteer to help; so they coached a couple teams,” she said.
Hensley said the program didn’t have a consistent coach for the fifth-grade team this year. Sometimes, that coach was a high school student or a parent.
Recognition
During the Dec. 18 school board meeting, Beverly Wilson presented certificates of recognition to Hensley and Fox. The Singers were unable to attend the meeting.
“These individuals have done an outstanding job,” Wilson said.
Hensley thanked the school board and officials for allowing the program to use the school facilities.
“That’s huge,” she said. “That’s why we can do it. PE coaches have been wonderful in letting us use their equipment and getting it out.”