Bedford Police Team Up With BHS For Basketball Team

The Bedford Police Department is teaming up with Bedford High School on the basketball court.

For the third year in a row, the Police-Recreation Basketball League will be in full swing. Several teams consisting of Bedford High School students will be coached by members of the Bedford Police Department.

The league is for any BHS student grades nine through 12 who aren’t involved playing for the school. It is a chance for them to get on the court and show off, or learn new skills that they might not have had the chance to discover before.

Anyone can try out for the league. Those who choose to participate are placed on teams based on a skills evaluation. The signups are in the fall at the start of the school year and the teams will play through the spring.

Currently, there are 58 players and six teams.

The coaching staff consists of 14 police and emergency communications officers, all of whom are volunteers. Police say each player is treated equally, no matter what skill level they are at, and that the experience is less about the competition and more about the opportunity to have fun and play basketball.

Police also believe it is a great way to connect with the young people in the community. said as a coach and police chief, he is very proud of the league. He said it is a great way to reach out into the community and connect with a population of children that they wouldn’t have otherwise known.

“What I want is for the community to know what a great job the officers are doing,” Chief Robert Bongiorno told Wicked Local. “The goal of the program is for youth to see officers out of uniform and off-duty. Hopefully this will breakdown the natural barriers (between youth and police).”