While some students choose to participate in school sports, others choose to create their own teams outside of school, such as the Spice Boys recreational basketball team. With other commitments or a lack of interest in playing for the school, the group of juniors chose to form a recreational team that competes at Okun Fieldhouse in Shawnee.

“I wanted to start a rec basketball team because my friends and I enjoy the sport but didn’t really want to make the full commitment to school ball or have other commitments,” junior captain Samuel Hashagen said. “We also just thought it would be a fun thing to do together.”

Junior player Adam Lee agrees that it is an enjoyable activity to do with friends, as well as a way to stay physically active.

“Playing [basketball] with my group of friends is really fun and a good way for me to stay active and spend time with them,” Lee said. “The funnest part about Spice Boys is just showing up to the game with no pressure and getting to make jokes and have fun together on the court.”

So far, the Spice Boys have participated in one full season and are currently in the middle of their first winter session.

“We’re in the middle of our second season right now, and we’re doing pretty well so far. After this we have two more full seasons, which is the second winter session and then another season in the spring,” Hashagen explained. “We’ve been pretty successful so far and went 4-2 last season, which is pretty good.”

One thing about the team that stands out from many other recreational basketball teams is the amount of supporters they attract to the games.

“A bunch of our friends come to the games and support all of us throughout the game, and that just creates an even better atmosphere to just have fun with the team and our friends,” Lee said.

On average, they get a decent amount of supporters per game that come out to support.

“We have lots of supporters, about 10 to 15 people or more come out to the games to support us and have fun, and our moms like to come and watch sometimes too,” Hashagen said.

The Spice Boys play at Okun Fieldhouse on Tuesdays. For more information about game times and dates, it is available on their twitter, @Spiceboysdhs.