by Michael Leppert, The Link Staff

Homeschoolers make headlines with their achievements in spelling bees, the SAT, college football and now, women’s college basketball. Now, they can add the basketball court to the list. Currently, Taber Spani, one of the best players in the nation, is being scouted by major colleges, including powerhouses, Connecticut and Tennessee. Taber, a high school junior, plays for the Metro Academy Mavericks of Olathe, Kansas. But she is not the first homeschooled woman to play basketball.

Many previous outstanding players participated in the National Christian Homeschool Basketball Championships, this year held in Oklahoma City.  Rachel McLeod of Liberty University, Corrie Hester of Oral Roberts and Shalin Spani of Kansas State, Taber’s older sister, have all played on the “parquet” of the NCHC.

The tournament is a necessity because at the present time, only 18 states have laws that grant homeschoolers access to athletic teams at public schools. As any casual observer into the machinery of sports knows, once a large enough number of homeschoolers have brought fame and glory (and alumni donations) to public school programs, they will be welcomed with open arms as an asset to be courted. In the meantime, great tournaments like the NCHC and the programs that send competing teams to participate, make it possible for players of excellence to be noticed by top college recruiters and hopefully, take their talents to a new level of appreciation and skill. MjL■