Players on the current City High girls basketball team couldn’t pinpoint exactly when the team’s longstanding tradition of practicing against male players began. A few players attributed the credit to Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt, who began recruiting male practice players to play against her Tennessee squad in the 1970s. Coach Summitt recruited men who played high school basketball but weren’t quite talented enough to play in college.
Coach Bernard believes in the benefits for varsity players and the grey team members. Gray team members receive perks that include free meals, silver cord hours, and a good workout.
Competing against males who had the height, weight, and strength advantage helped Coach Summitt’s team perform at a higher level. This method worked; and it caught on quickly. Other collegiate-level teams began doing the same, recruiting guys on campus to play against in practice. This trend has continued throughout the twenty-first century, and the use of the men’s practice team is present nationally, and continues to be a part of women’s basketball at City High.
City High’s boys practice squad has been around for over thirteen years, and over this time developed the name, “gray team.”
Years ago, gray team was built of male cross-country athletes at City High. Because of their length and speed, they made up the majority of the gray squad. Now, gray team has expanded to a variety of athletes who do not play winter sports.
Cal Vitense ‘26 has been a part of the gray team since his junior year. Vitense started doing gray team due to ending his basketball career after his sophomore season to focus on baseball. Vitense saw gray team as a way to keep playing basketball on occasion.
“I do gray team because I like basketball and just playing for a couple hours a week is pretty fun,” Vitense said.
Not only does Vitense enjoy playing, he also feels that the gray team really is beneficial.
“My sister plays and I feel like having a gray team can give our girls team a good look in practice, and just makes them better in general because we don’t know the plays, and we can make practice harder than games,” Vitense said.
Head Coach Lynsey Barnard agrees that the gray team is helpful to her team in practice.
“Having the boys around keeps our legs fresh and allows us to compete against longer and taller players. They challenge us to perform faster, smarter, and stronger,” said Barnard.
Senior Halle Larew, a center for the Little Hawks, believes that gray team is beneficial to her in a few ways.
“Their physicality is really helpful for me as a post. Going against taller players makes it easier in games, and because they aren’t our teammates, it’s easier to run defense and play against them,” Larew said.
Larew believes the gray team has certainly been beneficial for the Little Hawks, as the girls basketball team is entering their game on Tuesday, January 26th with a record of 13-3, and ranked 8th in 5A.
