Tournament coordinator Tim Flatt, who coaches a team in Oklahoma City, estimates between 500 and 700 homeschool athletic associations offering varsity level basketball nationwide. Some groups also play other sports. Oklahoma has seven varsity programs, Flatt said. There are 20 in the Indiana Christian Basketball Alliance, which has a state tournament unaffiliated with the national one. There are many more teams than that in the state.
Some states allow homeschool athletes to play on public school teams.
Nathan Day, who averages 13 points a game at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., was a homeschool student who played varsity basketball at a private high school in Kansas. Skill levels Quality of play varies widely because different state regulations effectively dictate where programs are strongest, Flatt said. Doug Pierson, coordinator of a team in Big Rock, Ill., said he struggles to balance the desires of parents who want competitive athletics with those who view play chiefly as a physical education class. Sportsmanship and character are paramount for the Northeast Oklahoma Homeschool Association in Tulsa, where 160 kids play on grade school through high school teams for N.O.A.H. Jaguars. The Associated Press .