OMS student plays varsity basketball

Seventh-grader Jamie Behar is a standout — she’s one of the first middle school athletes to play on an Oceanside varsity team. The 6-foot-1-inch Behar, who will be 13 on April 17, recently finished a successful first season playing with the Oceanside High School girls’ basketball varsity team. The team made it to the first round of playoffs, finishing in second place in the Nassau Conference AA-II, behind Baldwin.

“She’s 12 years old in age but she’s far more mature in basketball skills,” said varsity basketball Coach Jason Manning. Jamie said that she bonded with her teammates, who are six years older than her, through pre-game pizza parties and making posters at seniors’ homes.

“Her size just puts her more as a point guard, she just has the skills of a guard which is very rare and she’s a good scorer,” said Manning.

Jamie is one of the first beneficiaries of a change in school district policy that allows talented middle school athletes to play varsity sports. Manning said that he first became aware of Jamie’s skills when she came to a basketball clinic run by the high school team two years ago. “She probably could have played for us in sixth grade, but state rules say seventh grade,” said Manning. “…She has a very high basketball IQ. She just understands the game and how to make it better.”

Jamie also played as the only girl on an seventh and eighth boys’ team for JCC March Madness tournament. “It was kind of weird playing with the guys at first,” she said. “But I had fun playing. It was really fun.” Her team, coached by Alex Berger and Bobby Murphy, finished second in the tournament.

Jamie started playing basketball in fourth grade, after playing soccer and softball. “For me basketball started to become the most fun and I wanted to play basketball more than any other sport,” said Jamie. “I just love the game though. She also said the sport was a bond with her father, Doug Behar, who used to play basketball.

In the current off-season, she’s on the track team at Oceanside Middle School. “Me and a bunch of friends decided to do it,” said Jamie. “We all wanted to get into better shape.”

Behar also plays basketball with the West Hempstead-based Amateur Athletic Union team, Long Island Lightning. Jamie has played with this team since she started playing basketball.

As for her future plans, Jamie says she wants to play basketball “as long as I can and possibly go into the WNBA.”

Manning said she would probably be a starter on the team next year. “We’re certainly looking forward to having her for five more years,” he said. “…She’s a great kid and she’s going to be an extraordinary talent.”