In the last six months the Rossendale Raptors have expanded from one men’s team previously, to three men’s teams and a women’s team this season.
The Raptors first team play in the National Basketball League and the second and third men’s teams that play in the regional Manchester Area Basketball League.
The second team are aiming to compete in the Premier Division of the regional basketball league following promotion from Division One last year while the club’s third team provides an opportunity for younger and novice players to play and gain experience.
In the last week both the Premier division team and the Development team played games in their respective divisions.
The Premier Division team faced rivals Burnley who have been a strong side in the division for several seasons.
Typically, Burnley have perhaps been slightly stronger than the Rossendale team. However over the last couple of years there has been a shift in power.
This was demonstrated again this week as the Raptors second team comfortably beat Burnley 56-44 with a solid performance.
The Raptors led for the majority of the game on the back of strong performances from John Lindsay (pictured) and Tom Platt.
Seb Ingham, 17, had a strong league debut for the club, dominating the play and controlling the flow of the game on offence and defence.
His control and leadership were terrific considering his age and he could be pushing on towards the National League side later in the season.
It was a brilliant way for the relatively new team to start the season.
Aaron Kay, last season’s MVP has taken on the role of player coach for this year and said: "Several of last year’s players have stepped up to the national league team and many of this year’s side are making a big step up from their previous experience.
"We have several new players who have come into the team and have performed brilliantly and I’m hoping for more of the same as the season progresses.
"This is a tough division, and every game is going to be tough, but if we can keep playing like we did against Burnley then we’ll do well."
The club’s development team also played this week in Division Two of the regional league at Holmes Chapel.
This is another new team for the club this season and the Raptors were unsure how they might fare in the Second Division, given the inexperience and youth in the team.
However, the youngsters rallied together behind 16-year-old Ben Chicken (BRGS student) who scored a team-high 19 points.
Other youngsters Anton Korab, Jamie Swales and Adam Robinson played well on their league debuts and were well marshalled by more experienced players Chris Watts and Jimmy Munday.
Coach Mark Williams was delighted with a 73-62 win against a good Holmes Chapel team.
He said: "I was delighted with the way the team pulled together and how the younger players held their nerve.
"Ben was terrific and is a great prospect for the future.
"Many people thought we might struggle in this league and, although some games will be a challenge for us given our inexperience, we have the talent and team spirit to cause a few upsets."
Overall, it’s been another a great week for the Raptors which shows the depth of talent which the club has developed over recent years.
This week the Raptors National League team play Hull Wasps at Haslingden Sports Centre at 5.15pm on Saturday (8 October).
Spectators are welcome to come and support the team.