SARATOGA SPRINGS — Founded to help grow and increase opportunities for local youth basketball participation, Saratoga Battle Basketball has quickly picked up steam in the Capital Region youth basketball circuit.
Originally established in 2019, Saratoga Battle plans to offer 12 to 13 teams this season between boys and girls teams at a variety of grade levels, said president Adam Britten, who noted the program has grown “a thousand percent” since its inception. There are roughly 150 kids participating this year across all of the Saratoga Battle teams.
“We have two fourth-grade teams, we have one fifth-grade team, two sixth-grade teams, one seventh-grade team and one eighth-grade team on the boys side,” said Britten. “And then we basically double that on the girls side as well.”
The league is open to all kids who reside inside the Saratoga Springs City School District, whether they attend a district school or otherwise.
The boys teams compete in the Capital District Youth Basketball League (CDYBL), while the girls teams compete in the Capital District Girls Basketball League (CDGBL). Teams play a schedule of roughly 16 to 18 games, plus an end-of-season tournament. Games are played from the first weekend of November to the first weekend of March, Britten said.
The program has seen strong results early on, with three of its boys teams winning CDYBL championships at their respective age levels last season, said Britten.
“We’re really trying to act as a feeder program for middle school, freshman, JV, varsity basketball, no matter what school you go to in the Saratoga district,” said Britten. “I’m happy to say that my entire eighth grade team last year, they were all playing on the modified team at Saratoga. That’s the ultimate goal, is to make the high school-level teams.”
One major perk for the program are the annual games played on the hardwood at MVP Arena in Albany. In the week leading up to Christmas, the Saratoga Battle teams have an opportunity to play in the arena, with Britten saying “It’s probably the number one thing that the kids and parents look forward to.” The teams also attend a Siena College game at the arena.
“It’s just something really cool,” Britten said. “The night of the game, we do reserve a banquet hall, and get the whole program in there, and have some food. … It’s just definitely a very cool experience.”
Saratoga Battle is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and is entirely funded by donations and sponsors, with Britten saying they aim to keep fees as low as possible for families and kids who wish to play. He noted Saratoga Battle will work to sponsor families who may need financial assistance, and offer carpools to help transport kids to games and practices. Britten also credited the organization’s sponsors for their support.
“Our goal is to always be cost-effective for the families to play, and to keep fees as low as we can,” said Britten. “We want to keep families interested, and we think the number one factor in that is keeping costs to a minimum. That’s always our goal there.”
Saratoga Battle’s teams will play their home games this season at Gavin Park in Wilton. Britten noted the organization has to pay to reserve gym time, which he said is currently the program’s “biggest challenge.”
“We’re raising money and spending it on the kids,” said Britten. “There’s no man, no adult or coach making any money on the program.”
Britten, who was born and raised in Saratoga Springs, said he “grew up in these programs,” and noted it is meaningful to offer a strong opportunity for local kids to get involved with basketball, and also to build a presence and connections in the community.
“A lot of what we do is making sure that every kid has an opportunity to play,” Britten said. “At the end of the day, there’s probably four or five hundred kids playing basketball in Saratoga. We’re happy with our presence.”
