For the love of the game

What do you do at 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning in mid December? Perhaps you go Christmas shopping, or maybe you sleep in. No such luck for these basketball players. Game starts at 8 a.m., which means all players should arrive at the gym no later then 7:45 ready to warm up. District 49 is in its fourth season of elementary school basketball. What started out as five teams has grown to a district wide schedule. “We want the kids to have fun and learn the basics of the game. We are all volunteers giving our time to the youth of our community,” said Coach Dave Ritz teacher at Remington Elementary School. As I walked through the gym and saw the joy on the youngster’s faces, it brought me back to the day that playing basketball for the love of the game is what it is all about. Yes, the thrill of competition was definitely there, but more than that was the thrill of seeing moms, dads, brothers, sisters, grandpas and grandmas. There were no players’ salaries to argue about, no one is holding out for more $$. Simply playing the game for what it is. “I’m here to support my child, it is his first official school sport,” said Zach’s mom Jennifer. Coach Ritz also mentioned that the league prepares the student athlete for high school. “We want to develop their basketball skills early so when they begin High School they have been playing competitive ball for a while.” Being a high school coach myself I love to hear these words: develop, program and skills. It is very important to see the youth in our community begin basketball at an early age. I have seen these same youth play for the past four years, and I have really seen a difference in their development. We all know how fast District 49 is growing, and as we grow so do our schools, which means our sports program will move up to the highest sports level in the state of Colorado, D-5. Are we ready to play the likes of schools, such as Doherty, Air Academy, and Highlands Ranch? With a program as good as this, I believe we will be able to compete for the state championships in no time.High School Winter Sports Have BegunIt’s beginning to look a lot like …. winter sports? What a great time of the year. Jack Frost nipping at your nose and sports played indoors. We are well under way as high school basketball and wrestling kicks off the season. The Falcon Basketball programs have both started out with three wins and one loss overall. With both teams losing to a Division 5 opponent. Both boys and girls have high expectation for the season. Players to look for this season. Saddie Maughan, junior, a center with 14.8 points per game. Pouring in 20 points vs. Pueblo East, 15 points vs. Woodland Park and finished with 19 points against Classical Academy. Her teammate, Alley Goniea, junior, forward, has helped with 7.3 points per game with 11 points vs. Classical Academy. On the boys side it’s all senior 6’1″ Aaron Cain can do to show he is leading the way with 17.8 points per game. Shredding Machebeuf, with 22 points, hammering Springs Christian with 17 points, and pouring in 18 vs. Lewis-Palmer. Teammate Ian Oliphant, senior, 6’1″ helps with 13.5 points per game. Be sure to take in a few games this year for a fun, inexpensive family oriented good time. See schedule below for next home game.Falcon Boys Schedule