Brundidge and Troy may be separated by about 10 miles, but two Brundidge recreation basketball teams felt at home on Monday night.

The 12-U boys Bulldogs of Brundidge knocked off the Hawks 46-20. The 10-U Brundidge boys found similar success, beating the Trail Blazers 45-25.

It’s been a banner year for teams from the small town of Troy that compete in the Troy Recreation and Parks Department basketball league. Teams from Brundidge lead the division standings in every division except for 8-U.

While winning is nice, Charles Wilson, one of the coaches of the 10-U Brundidge team, said it was not the main focus of his coaching. “We try to teach the fundamentals of basketball—shooting, dribbling, passing,” Wilson said. “We also stress sportsmanship and playing as a team.”

Wilson hopes stressing the fundamentals will help the kids from Brundidge grow in to players who can eventually contribute at the high school level. “If the kids are coached right and trained right, playing recreation basketball when they are young can help them tremendously when they reach high school,” Wilson said. “We want them to eventually be able to play in high school and junior high.”

One factor that might have contributed to Brundidge’s success on the basketball court is the camaraderie between the players. “These players have been together for a while,” Wilson said. “They played football together and won a Super Bowl. They’ve learned to play through adversity. When they first started playing, they were at the bottom of the league. Now they’re at the top.”

Alvin Johnson, another coach for the Brundidge 10-U, said the team has been so successful because the players learned to play together. “They learned real fast that organized ball is different than playing pick-up in a gym,” Johnson said. “The kids have learned to play as a team and not play selfishly. We’ve had to be hard with them, but we’re always fair with them. We teach them to be generous in victory and generous in defeat.”

Thad Frazier, whose 12-U Bulldogs enjoyed a 46-20 win on Monday night, said he hopes his team just has fun. “You always want the kids to have fun,” Frazier said. “And the kids always want to score. They’ll always be happy if they score.”

Frazier said the main thing he has noticed as a coach is the improvement the kids have shown over the season. “I have a hard working group of kids,” Frazier said. “Some of these kids hadn’t played a day of basketball in their lives before they joined the team. I have seen a great improvement in the individual players and in the team. They practice hard.”

Frazier said it has been a blessing to play in Troy. “Most of the kids from Brundidge know the kids in Troy,” Frazier said. “The rec center is open most of the time, so they’re able to play against each other every now and then. I think the enjoy coming up to Troy to play. It gives them a chance to play in a different city and against different kids instead of just playing the same kids in Brundidge every game.”