65 high schools.
19 AAU clubs.
11 nights (19 total sessions in a 32 day stretch).
8 NYSPHSAA sections represented (plus preps from CT, MA, & PA).
7 graduation classes.
1 love.
That, in a nutshell, was the *technically* 1st annual EST Summer Run. The run sessions, a new incarnation birthed from the flagship EST Summer League, took nearly all of my attention in August... and with good reason. A couple nights per week for five weeks, the majority of the extended region's premier talent took the court to get in some work while most are usually in relax mode. Unlike the league, the format was more than just 5v5 - and in the interest of exploring to figure out what worked best, it wasn't always the same from night to night, though 3v3 & 5v5 play was always the base. Like the league, it was a different, relaxed, fun setting, but you know what happens when you get a bunch of good players in the gym... the environment was as competitive as ever.
In coming days, weeks, & months (because it'll take me that long to get through all the game film), more content will hit here & the social media platforms. There's already plenty on Twitter & Instagram from the last few weeks. I'll drop some more detailed individual player thoughts in the near future, but for now, a few sweeping Summer Run thoughts:
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| Lauren Filien (Stony Brook commit) was 1 of 8 current Division I commits that took the court on EST Summer Run nights. Nearly 30 that hit either the Troy or Rochester gyms on those evenings currently hold scholarship offers. |
- The thank yous come first, because many people were key contributors to this year's run. First, a thank you to Melissa Kuberka, who was integral in securing a court at Tri-County Sports Complex in Macedon. It was my first time running anything in the 585, and I'll definitely be back soon. Another major thank you to Julie McBride, who graciously gave the Summer Run 518 edition a home at MD Sports Hall & was very helpful along the way. Eric Fluty played a major role in making things run smoothly on the Troy nights, from helping to keep tabs on things during 3v3 all the way to doing the 5v5 clock & camera work (at the same time) & so much more. On the Rochester nights, it was Kevin Goode on the 5v5 clock & Kelly Owens on the camera. Alfred University assistant coach Carson George and now-Alfred State head coach Taylor Button made the trip up to Tri-County and ended up coaching 5v5 teams. SUNY Oswego head coach Sean Pinkerton made the trip to Troy and ended up demonstrating a 2v2 drill on a night where lower numbers made it necessary for a session (and I liked it so much, everyone did it the following week). To every player & family that spent a night (or 2, or 3, or 8) in a hot upstate NY gym competing... this doesn't happen without you, and I thank you!
- If I talk about the successes, I must also be real with myself about the failures. On short notice, I was able to fill two sessions twice a week for 4 weeks in Troy (plus an extra night along the way). It took some creativity along the way - more on that later - but it worked every night. That wasn't quite the case in Rochester. We pieced together one night with probably the minimum number that can work in a warm facility, and the following night was fantastic. However, I unfortunately had to pull out of a third night the following week because of lack of numbers. Perhaps that just showed me that EST event buy-in in WNY isn't at the level that it currently is back in the 518, perhaps it was just the last-minute nature of putting it together. That being said, get used to seeing me west of I-81 even more. The Summer Run will be back in 2022... and in Rochester? Buffalo? Both? Consider it a primary goal to have it take off in the area. A major thank you to the 23 girls that took the court over those two days at Tri-County. Like the original group that filled 5 teams in the first EST girls' summer league in 2015, I'll never forget who was in the gym.
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| Brianna Barr-Buday, one of WNY's top up & comers, hit the Tri-County court for both EST Summer Run nights in the Rochester Area. Barr-Buday, a 2024 at Nichols School in Buffalo, already holds offers from Buffalo & Niagara. |
- All that being said... I think I maybe underestimated just how many of our upstate NY players are really about it. I anticipated maybe 70-80 would hit the gym in August, and when all was said & done, it ended up being 112. From Albany to Buffalo, Plattsburgh to Poughkeepsie, and everywhere in between were all represented. For an event predicated on quality, getting that much of upstate NY's higher level talent in the gym after a grueling AAU season was eye-opening.
- Some of upstate NY's finest got their start in EST by subbing into the summer league as youngsters on nights where a team had low numbers. I had to get creative with some of the 7:30 sessions... so why not have an entire division for those that are 'next up'? One of the best things about August's exploration into the Summer Run series was the creation of a 'Next Generation' division in Troy. Alongside a few 2024s, the majority of this division featured up & coming talent in the 2025-26 classes. Many were local to the Capital District, but athletes from as far as Syracuse, Elmira, & Plattsburgh made the trip on weeknights. I hoped this would be a group that improved from night to night, and that's exactly what happened, with the last Next Gen night being as strong of an indication as you'll see anywhere that upstate NY girls' hoops is in good hands.
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| Kendyl Ouimette, a 2025 at Columbia, was one of the rising stars that came through & proved their time is now at EST Summer Run's 'Next Generation' division. |
- You never knew who you'd see in the gym from night to night, but you knew they could play, and some of those 518 sessions went CRAZY. Eight Division I commits, two Division II commits, around 15 others that currently hold scholarship offers, and many more that will in the future all in the mix. Not finding that in upstate NY... just glad I got a front row seat for it. As mentioned, the future in the extended region is bright, but I'm not worrying about hurrying tomorrow when the present is this strong too!
- Following that point... even in a more closed, intimate setting like this, putting in work & showing well among that level of talent can go a long way in making a bigger name for yourself. I won't drop all the names now - another post will be coming in the near future with some of that - but there were players that showed up, showed out, and elevated their profile in a matter of weeks. There isn't much I enjoy more than watching the well-deserved 'blow up' happen, and it's already underway for a few that turned up at the August sessions.
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| Adriana Fontana made the trip from the Binghamton area to Troy twice a week for 3 straight weeks, and she showed out every time. The Union-Endicott 2024 has quickly cemented herself as one of the region's most promising guards in her class. |
- Last but not least... expect the Summer Run format to be the new way of EST summer ball. The league was amazing, but the experiment with a new method of doing things so drastically exceeded expectations, it'd be stupid to not learn & run with it. EST Summer Run in various locations... see you in June 2022!
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| 5 players. 4 high schools from 4 NYSPHSAA sections. 3 AAU programs. 2 graduating classes. 1 love. This is the camaraderie that could be seen every night of EST Summer Run. |
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