Former Catasauqua player and current boys’ basketball assistant coach James Snyder has realized how the summer league basketball options have disappeared over the past few years, and the leagues have seen their better days.

He and his Curmaci Dental teammates will play for the title of the North Catasauqua basketball league July 20. Catasauqua ended its league last week.

“Given that there is no more Tournament of Champions, or Battle of the Boroughs, winning the league is the highest goal right now,” reflected Snyder. “We have to get this one because there isn’t anything after it.”

For the second consecutive year, there won’t be a postseason tournament involving the North Catasauqua and Catasauqua leagues.

It was another reminder on how summer basketball leagues have become a memory instead of once being a staple 30-plus years ago from Easton to Allentown as well as north to the Poconos.

Fortunately, Catty has the lone leagues standing, and the past few years have created an apathetic and inevitable feeling that every year could be its last.

Catasauqua’s league couldn’t field 10 teams this summer, and this was one league that often fielded more than 10. North Catasauqua had 10 teams, but these basically were the same teams in both leagues. In turn, the amount of regular-season games has been reduced.

Yet, no one can take away Catty playground’s rich heritage. Unfortunately, the old school outlet has fallen victim to present day times, Players like Snyder, who is in his 30s, realize Father Time is on their heels, and the once 20-plus year-old who reigned at the parks now has a platter of other commitments and desires.

Once upon a time, Catasauqua legend Larry Miller made the Catasauqua playground his annual summer playground, sharpening his skills in the process. While he was in high school, Legend had it that Miller often played against older players from Allentown.

The annual Tournament of Champions was one of the most anticipated events of the summer, as it was a showcase of past and current talent. It was a time of nostalgia from the past and anticipation for the future.

Unfortunately, the tournament ended after a 30-year run, and COVID dealt it an undeserving blow

Longtime Catasauqua boys’ basketball coach and Catasauqua summer playground supervisor Eric Snyder wanted to keep some semblance of a tournament alive, and he created The Battle of the Borough, which featured the champions from the Catasauqua and North Catasauqua leagues.

But Snyder was distressed over a rainy 2025 summer that caused “too many rainouts,” and he canceled the borough battle.

Snyder, who has been a fixture at Catty’s playground summer program for 41 years, has felt the shoulder effects of throwing Nerf ball, once a game that was five days a week. There are still basketball games as part of the program, but the overall program has become a shell of itself.

Chances are, Snyder will be back next summer, as he hasn’t given any indications of retiring, but he knows he can count the years. North Catty hoops supervisor Jason Bogden likely will be back.

Time won’t likely change the current environment and landscape of both summer programs, but it won’t take away a treasure trove of memories it once provided.