STARTING AND RUNNING A BASKETBALL LEAGUE
December 18, 2008 by Andy Socrates
There are some people out there who adhere to the philosophy that that if they can’t find something they want, they either create it or provide others with the tools to create it. There is always a better way to do something. If they find themselves unhappy with their surroundings, they figure out a way to change it for their purpose.
Take Brian Yang. He founded Dream League NY, a non-profit basketball league that has taken recreational games to a whole another level here in New York.
Dream League is a California non-profit basketball league dedicated to the achievement of high school students and student-athletes, and the preservation of sportsmanship and community-fostering competition. It currently has affiliate locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, Las Vegas, and New York. Its headquarters are in San Francisco.
AS: How did you get started?
Yang: Where do I begin? My story isn’t the most linear of paths. I guess in relation to ball, I’ve just always been a hoophead. I’m from the Bay Area out West where I grew up playing in different leagues and tournaments in and out of school all year round. My friend, who was my college roommate and who I’ve known since high school, started up the DL in the Bay about a decade ago running tournaments. Eventually, it turned into a league which has grown into 100+ teams a season now all over the Bay and about four and a half years ago, I started DLNY when I saw a niche it could fill here.
AS: Why did you start Dream League in New York?
Yang: Dream League is a professionally run organization that is different from the average b-ball league in that we run modified pro-rules and we keep stats which we post on our website along with articles, pictures, and videos. Most of our players are the average workin’ guy, but with the DL, they get treated like a pro! It’s almost like a mini-fantasy NBA environment for them. Over the years, in playing in a couple of corporate leagues around NYC, I thought the model that SF had created would work well here. Most leagues just have a weekly game and keep it real vanilla. With the DL, we got flavor. Guys love it. NYC loves it.
AS: How difficult was it to start and did you enlist any help?
Yang: When I was looking to start out, I tried to enlist some help and basically had a handful of players who volunteered to help keep score and stats. Some friends came out to take pictures every once in awhile and because part our mission is to help the underserved youth of the city, we stay engaged in their communities and keep them off the streets, we formed some alliances with a few youth not-for-profits who had some teenagers come help us run and organize the league by fulfilling community service hours and to further strengthen their experiences of working within a team context, helping an organization operation. It seems trivial, but it’s mundane things like this that help a person grow little by little.
AS: How big has it grown? Where do you forsee the league?
Yang: We started that first season with seven teams in one division. Today, in our 11th season, we have over 30 teams across three divisions. We’re kind of at our cap right now for NYC since we’re limited by resources - time, space, and manpower. We have to turn away tems every season since we can’t accommodate everyone and have it run smoothly. It can be a logistical nightmare. It kind of sometimes already is, but with the folks we have helping to run things, we always find a way to work it out. I don’t know. Right now, it’s kind of pie-in-the sky stuff…but down the road, we’ve talked about expanding here around NYC if we could find more gyms to use and more folks to help operate games. Maybe poke out into the outer boroughs even, or New Jersey. We’ve looked at starting other branches in other cities, even internationally, so I wouldn’t rule anything out. It’s just a matter of the right time, right place, and right people coming together.
AS: What insight would you offer to our readers who want to start their own tournament/ league?
Yang: If you’re going to start up a tourney or league, be prepared to put in a lot of hours for it. Obviously, a tourney isn’t as much work if it’s a one-time kind of thing as opposed to a league which might last up to four months, but even then, you need to spend time at least one to two months in advance of it putting everything together - booking gyms, finding teams, preparing things like booklets, awards, Philosokicks t-shirts, maybe even coordinating hotel deals for teams coming from out of town if you’re doing that kind of tournament. Then there is collecting money. That’s always fun. It seems when it comes down to collecting entry fees from people, they forget it costs money. It’s hard work being the money chaser. That’s a huge task in and of itself.
AS: What logistics should our readers understand?
Yang: Oh, and let’s not forget scheduling. Oh man, the more teams you have, the more schedule requests you get, the more time you spend asking people, informing people, pleading with people to move different game times. What someone doesn’t really understand is that when you make a request, it doesn’t just affect your team or your opponent. It sends a trickle-down effect that requires other teams, each one of their players basically, to say yes or no. So you have to wait for that. So, like I said, time, it’s a lot of time. But if you’re lucky, you have a lot of good people helping you out along the way.
AS: What influences in the past led you to believe you could start your own basketball league?
Yang: Well, there’s Rich Twu, my old college roommate who started DL in the Bay first. He didn’t really lead me to believe I could do this on my own. He just gave me the idea really, though thank goodness for that. I wanted to take the idea, run with it, and build it out here because I really saw a gaping hole in our community for something like this. I have a non-linear path as I mentioned and I guess I’ve always been somewhat of an independent, entrepreneurially minded person. I love basketball and I’ve always enjoyed doing philanthropic type work. I’ve volunteered for a bunch of non-profits in the past and done things that have been sports oriented as well as been a big brother to a high schooler. I saw this as something I could run on the side, combining both interests, for fun and to bring something to the community - both the players and the youth. It’s grown way beyond that in many ways though.
AS: How did you get the word out on Dream League?
That first year, it was just through word of mouth. Pounding the pavement. I just contacted a bunch of friends who play ball and asked them whether they’d join a league if one was created. Ballers always say yes to ball, so really, it wasn’t that difficult. I mean, what are they going to say when asked about playing basketball? No???? What’s helped it grow though is because of the people who put in time to help the league out from an operations perspective. The volunteers, the youth, the players who talk about it. It’s still word of mouth, and I guess we’ve been doing an okay job running it, cause it keeps growing.
AS: What has the response been from the players?
Yang: I’m always thinking we can improve things, but for the most part, the players have responded really well to the DL. They particularly enjoy the website aspect of it where they can read about themselves, others, check stats, and see pics or videos. I guess in a small way, they get to feel like they’re reading about themselves on ESPN.com. The competition has been great too across the divisions, so it’s been particularly great to see really good hard fought games happen over the seasons and the guys definitely like that too.
AS: How do you see the league bringing people and community together?
Yang: Since most of the players in our league work 9-5, or more like 9-9 if you’re in NYC finance, their one game a week in the DL serves as a release for them. They get to come here, away from work or other pressures of life, and get to let their inner NBA desires go. Obviously, most people come here for fun and to play in a sport they love, but if we can give them a fun “professional” experience to make it more engaging, then why not? It’s great too, because in some ways, we’ve fostered a community here, a club atmosphere in a way, guys get to know one another through the league and can use these relationships for other professional or personal matters. I’m serious. We have two guys, Andre Liu and Arif Ansari, who met through the league and ultimately, Arif’s wife introduced Andre to his current fiance. That almost made me shed a tear. I also think that if the DL can continue to provide a platform for high school aged youth to come and partake in, that it is a great place for the youth to keep on learning how to run an organization alongside adult mentors. Players are giving back by merely participating. So, thanks for playing everyone!
AS: What has been your favorite moment as the league’s organizer?
Yang: There are many moments, but not too long ago, there was something that happened that I will not soon forget. I was approached by a player in the league about helping coordinate a bone marrow drive for his college friend who had leukemia. No question, I wanted to help out so we arranged for a few bone marrow donor nights at our games when tons of people were at our gyms - players, families, friends. When I saw all the people one night who were happily doing cheek swabs and helping out the Cammy Lee Foundation to help this girl who was in dire need, it really dawned on me how great it was to be able to help out in such a way. The DL has provided a foundation for people to come together for different things, and not only all about basketball.
AS: Any last words?
Yang: I’m just thankful for this opportunity. Thanks for taking the time for this interview. I guess if there’s anyone who knows about developing the mind through the game of basketball, it’s me. So, Ball or Die! - keep doin’ your thing!
AS: Thanks for your time, Brian.
For more information about Dream League, click here
I’ve been playing off and on in the Bay Area Dream League for 4 years now and it’s been a great experience, playing the games and seeing familiar faces on other teams. There’s no doubt the organizers spend a lot of time keeping the league up and running. The only negative aspect of the league is how Rich Twu, Bay Area DL Commish, talks down to his customers, is vindictive, cusses and swears on the webpage, and generally does not like answering questions/issues from other teams. Please get this guy some PR classes!
[...] few weeks ago, we interviewed Brian Yang about running a basketball league. For basketball enthusiasts who want to give it a go themselves, that might be a daunting task. An [...]
[...] few weeks ago, we interviewed Brian Yang about running a basketball league. For basketball enthusiasts who want to give it a go themselves, that might be a daunting task. An [...]
A great place to run your league for free is PlayerMania.com. You can also find players and connect with your league and view your stats.