The Best Places to Play Ball in West Chester

Spring was my favorite season of the year growing up for one particular reason.  That meant I could “Ball” outside. With warmer weather, all the characters flocked to the local court for some fierce competition. Due to the AAU landscape, parkside competition has dwindled a bit, but way back when… the West Chester/Malvern area had some great local spots. I remember there was always a long wait. So, if you lost, you were most likely done for the day. Below were my favorite spots. And when I drive by today, I’ll see sporadic pickups, but nothing like the late 90’s early 2000’s.

1.  East Goshen Park

This was my first experience with the outdoor pickups. Circa 1995-1998, the runs were mostly on weeknights. It was usually all the local high school kids (East/Henderson/Malvern/Great Valley). The crowd started to gather around four and went until around 6:30, if you were lucky enough to keep winning.

2.  The Cages

The Cages are located at the corner of Rosedale Ave and S Walnut Streets on West Chester University’s campus. In 1999-2002ish, the games started on the first day the weather broke. Typically, this was late March until the end of May, once classes let out.  The demographic would typically be college kids who lived on campus and or in the southeast section of town, where most of the students stayed. There would also be random local towny hoop junkies. Games would die down for the summer and pick up in early fall as well.  Nowadays, when I drive by, it’s the same timing.  Early to mid-Spring and dead all Summer until the kids are back.

3.  Thornbury Park

The best runs by far were Saturday mornings, roughly 7:30-10 am. The pool of players was unique to the location. Most of the hoopsters were Glen Mills School for Boys staff. Mix that in with a handful of local West Chester residents. The players were tough, and the games were heated. What I liked most about these courts… The hoop on the far east end was slightly lower, which made it easier to dunk. Since the closing of Glen Mills School, the games have died down over the years.  But the memories are vivid.

“Successful people monopolize listening while less successful people monopolize talking”  David Schwartz (author of The Magic of Thinking Big)