Junior Ben DeRubertis makes a sprint down the basketball court on a fast break. The ball is hurled through the air, and DeRubertis catches it. Just as he goes up for the layup, he is fouled. The good thing about DeRubertis? He gets back up to take his free throws.

Moving from Denver, Colorado the summer before his junior year, DeRubertis felt weighed down by the impending tasks ahead of him. Making new friends, moving into a new house, and creating a new life in a new city have all proven to be daunting tasks, but in the midst of all the pandemonium DeRubertis kept one thing constant: his love for basketball.

Moving halfway through high school isn’t easy for anyone, but instead of feeling the pressure, DeRubertis thrived. His love of basketball led him to join a local recreational team, Green Lake Rec. The team is based out of the Green Lake area, and includes players from Bishop Blanchet as well as Roosevelt High School. The fun-loving, goofy team worked its way all the way to the Seattle Parks and Recreation final game, only losing by a couple points in the final.

Although now DeRubertis is an integral player of the Green Lake team, he has to earn his spot on the starting lineup. Going in to this year, the team had only lost two players from their previous season. Green Lake Rec had several talented players that wanted to fill the newly opened spots. DeRubertis demonstrated his skills, and because of his hard work, determination, and towering height, landed a spot on the team.

“He was the only guy on our team who could dunk,” said teammate Zach Walls, “so you could definitely say he was our best player.”

In preparation for the season, the Green Lake Rec team practiced every Wednesday and Thursday from 8:00 to 9:00. Along with practices, the team also had to play up to two games a week. The amount of time and effort that the Green Lake Rec team put in could hurt some students’ social life, but this is certainly not the case for DeRubertis.

“Making new friends, playing basketball, it all helped me to make friends in school,” said DeRubertis. “The team was fun, and when it was finally time for me to go to school, I was ready to make new friends there because I had some built-in friends from basketball.”

As next year’s Rec League season becomes closer and closer, DeRubertis is gearing up for another fun year with his closest friends. This season, he hopes to help lead the team to winning the Seattle Parks and Recreation league.

“Thanks to Green Lake Rec, I immediately had 11 new friends from Seattle,” said DeRubertis. “I couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys, and I know this upcoming season we are going to do great things.”