By Gaylen Duskey
realfang@citlink.net
It was somewhere around the middle of the second quarter of yet another pounding being handed to our junior varsity team when I had an epiphany from what I heard.
"Oh, that's the kid we moved up from the freshman team," a person familiar with the Clay basketball team said.
"You have a freshman team?" I asked.
"Yes. We moved one of the freshmen up and he's playing now," they said.
"Only one freshman on the team?" I asked.
The answer was yes. I looked out on the court where we had five of them playing. They didn't have a prayer. They were getting killed and there was no hope of victory. No hope at all.
The third quarter when Calhoun can play some of the kids that also play varsity ball the game was close. When Calhoun was able to play sophomores against sophomores and juniors it was a game. When the freshmen were being thrown to the wolves â¦
Since I have been involved with the basketball program the teams (varsity and junior varsity) have a combined record of 1-67. Ouch. That's awful and yet the kids that are out for basketball give 100 percent all the time. They work. They sweat. They try. Yet they usually don't have a prayer.
In the past I have asked myself what it would take to turn things around but until I heard that off the cuff comment down in Clay I was unable to see the solution.
And that solution goes something like this:
1) Get some of the good athletes that are not on the wrestling team to give basketball a try in the winter. With some of these kids Calhoun would be much better than a winless team. But getting these kids to come out would, while providing immediate relief, be only a temporary solution.
2) Start having a freshman team immediately. Next year the school board should push for and approve the creation of such a team. I know there are a lot more important issues facing the schools and the school board, but wouldn't it be nice if they didn't try something to give our basketball teams a chance?
3) Start a youth program immediately. This could be a real low intensity operation going so far as having co-ed teams of players from the elementary schools and the fifth and sixth grade.
The youth program is the most important thing for the future but it would take a bit of work and commitment from the school system, parents and members of the community.
You would need people willing to coach, referee and see that at least one of the school gymnasiums (and there are five between the three schools) are available for practice and game.
You would need sponsors willing to shell out a couple of bucks to buy uniforms for the kids. I know I would be willing to buy uniforms if the team I bought them for was called the Hog Knob Hawks (or something like Hawks ⦠just so it was Hog Knob).
And you would need some people associated with the school system - teachers, coaches, board members, administrators, etc. - willing to champion such a cause.
Would this be a panacea for the basketball problems?
Who knows for sure but it would at least give the coaches at the middle school level kids coming into the program the knowledge of how to dribble, pass and catch a basketball. And that would be a huge step toward giving the Calhoun kids a chance to be successful in basketball just like they are in other sports.
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