ADAMS TWP — Preparing for and accommodating 600 elementary grade basketball players and their families takes time and patience, but it is made easier with support.

Eric Cunningham, founder of the Mars Youth Basketball Tournament, has coordinated it for four years.

The tournament is for players in grades three through six, and attracts dribblers from around the region and as far away as Erie and Ohio.

The tourney, which is played in three Mars School District gymnasiums and two other facilities, began Tuesday and ends Sunday. It has 56 teams play 179 games after school and on the weekend.

“We expect close to 3,500 people to attend,” Cunningham said.

He arranges the game brackets so families who travel the farthest do not have games every day. He also noted that youths of all ages can be seen doing homework in school hallways and bleachers during the tourney.

“We have kids doing a lot of that stuff everywhere,” Cunningham said.

Having rounded up the family and driven to the tournament, players, siblings and parents arrive at their games hungry.

Cunningham said restaurants and food vendors donate pizza, hot dogs and other items, which are sold at concession stands at each venue.

While the Mars varsity boys and girls basketball players help with the young players, the booster organizations prepare the food. He said choices include sloppy joes and walking tacos.

Cunningham said three main officials, Geoff Patterson, Chuck Pruss and Jim Perko, round up the 80 referees needed to officiate.

All referees are PIAA certified, and all are from this area, Cunningham said.

The tournament started out with 12 teams, and has grown to 60 this year.

Cunningham became involved in youth basketball when his young son showed an interest in and talent for the sport.

“We found something he loved,” Cunningham said.

He noted that all 104 kids in the Mars Youth Basketball program play, and no one is ever cut.

“We believe there is a team for every kid,” he said. “We want kids to learn and develop their skills.”

The philosophy is in concert with the theory supported by the school district, where a variety of activities are available for varying interests.

“Mars has great academics, but they also have great extracurricular programs,” Cunningham said.

He appreciates the support of the district’s basketball program and the school board and administration in putting on the tourney.

“The school district has been fantastic,” Cunningham said. “They recognize the importance of youth development in various activities.”

School board President Dayle Ferguson said, “We recognize that our school district’s facilities are community assets. We do our best to provide convenient and affordable access to our volunteer community groups when school-sponsored teams are not using them.”

Talking about the purpose of the tourney, Cunningham said, “When you see a third-grader playing in a gym and the smile on their face when they make a shot, whether they’re on your team or not, you cheer for them.”

He said the players in the Mars Youth Basketball program dream of being the next standout on a future Mars varsity team, but the lessons they learn at the tournament are equally as important as any recognition they may earn later on the court.

“Learning sportsmanship, being a good teammate, and learning the game of basketball is what our tournament is all about,” Cunningham said.