Basketball s in their blood

Transcription

1 North Dakota NODAK NOTEBOOK *New pairing is 18-2 *Easing kids into hoops * Boy scores 53, girl scores 45 *Youth tournaments coming up Volume 2 Issue No. 4 February Basketball s in their blood By Bruce Strand On the Fort Totem Reservation in North Dakota, basketball courts both indoors and outdoors are continuously in use for pickup games, and when young kids invoke names of their heroes, it s not NBA players; instead they aspire to shoot like Jason Feather or dunk like Tronis McKay or run the offense like Steve Redfox. The local heroes. So noted a Devils Lake Journal writer last year as he visited to investigate how all those victories at Four Winds-Minnewaukan have been generated in the past dozen years. The two small schools paired seven years ago and so far the Indians have played in three state championship games, winning their first Class B championship last year, and currently ranked first with a 16-1 mark. The Indians were state runners-up in 2013 and 2015, lost some key players, but came back last year with a smaller but quicker squad, and completed the job this time, beating Our Redeemer s of Minot in the Class B title game. Before the co-op, Four Winds went to state in 2006, 2007 and Steve Redfox, point guard, is one of the returning starters from Four Winds-Minnewaukan s state champion team. Devils Lake Journal photo All of this occurred under Rick Smith, who got his 300th win during the state championship season. A native of Warwick, ND, and graduate of University of North Dakota (elementary education), he s been coach for 16 seasons and also serves as activities director. Smith said the team is enjoying its new notoriety. Continued on Page 4 I think the last couple of years, we ve typically gotten everybody s best game and that s been a good thing because in a way it s prepared us. It s shown us areas where maybe we were deficient or things we needed to do better, Smith told the Jamestown Sun after their opening win this year. Our kids understand that we re going to take everybody s best punch. We need to be prepared for that. There are a lot of good teams out there, but our players enjoy that challenge and they re excited for this season. Among the graduates from that 26-1 team were Jason Feather, who was named Mr. Basketball for the state, and another key player, Koltin Three Irons. Still, a strong core returned led by versatile 6-foot-3 Tronis McKay, a second-team all-stater as a junior who scored 22 points in the cham-

2 Pacesetter Newsletter North Dakota Basketball News February 10 Page 2 Grand Forks, Fargo, Dickinson to host Pacesetter Region Playoffs for the Youth Basketball State Championships Grand Forks and Fargo have been selected to host regional playoffs for the 2017 Pacesetter North Dakota Youth Basketball State Championships. Grand Forks will host the Pacesetter EAST REGION Playoffs for the North Dakota Youth Basketball State Championships for grades 4-9 on Saturday and Sunday, March 4-5, at the University of North Dakota Wellness Center. Boys in grades 4 and 6, and girls in grade 5 will play on Saturday, March 4. Girls in grades 4 and 6 and boys in grade 5 will play on Sunday, March 5. Fargo Davies High School will also host EAST REGION playoffs with boys in grades 7 and 9 and girls in grade 8 playing Saturday, March 25, and girls in grades 7 and 9 and boys in grade 8 playing Sunday, March 26. The WEST REGION playoffs will be held in Dickinson March at Dickinson State University and the Dickinson Community Center. All teams play 3-4 games in the region playoffs. The top two teams at region advance to the state tournament April 1-2 in Jamestown to play in a Final Four-style bracket, and the top two teams at state advance to the 8-team four-state championship, which will be held at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul in 2017 due to construction on the Target Center. The Pacesetter Great Four-State playoff system involved over 900 teams from South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa in North Dakota claimed four Great Four-State championships last summer when the Bismarck Showtime 4th grade girls, the Central Cass 6th grade girls, the Dakota Thunder 7th grade girls and the St. John s/four Winds 8th grade boys won titles at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The Pacesetter youth playoffs are expected draw youth teams to each region. Fliers, registration and further information are available at -Submitted by Jeff McCarron, Pacesetter Director jeff@pacesetternet.com

3 Pacesetter Newsletter North Dakota Basketball News February 10 Page 3 When should kids start basketball? By Jeff McCarron Pacesetter Director Ex-Gopher Richard Coffey, I recently read, volunteered to coach his son Amir s (starting Gopher freshman) 3rd grade AAU team because he wanted him to play the point - in case he didn t grow tall, he could still play big-time. It worked. When is the best age to start learning basketball? I have had the joy of teaching kids in camps for 41 years all ages K-12 and I look at it this way: Stage 1: Building Excitement - Ages 1-5 It is helpful to get kids excited in a sport early by allowing them to watch games, to be around players, to dribble, pass, shoot at low baskets and have fun. Stage 1 can start as soon as they can sit up and roll a ball and can continue through ages 1-5 at small baskets with fun and excitement not technique - as the focus. Stage 2: Teaching Skills - Grades K-2 Kids in K-2 can be taught ball handling, passing and shooting skills, plus footwork, and defensive skills. They may not pick it all up, but if fun and excitement are happening and competitive drills and little games are played to keep their interest, they will stay engaged and do their best. SHOOTING NOTE: Players should definitely be playing at lower baskets at the K-2 level, so correct shooting form can be taught and they can have success making baskets. How low? If a player can make 1 of every 3 shots or Jeff McCarron better, they can get hooked on shooting. Let them advance out farther at the same basket or to higher baskets only after shooting 50% or better. PLAYING NOTE: I learned a lesson at camp a few years ago. I had been teaching K-2 camp sessions with 3-on-2 games at the peak of their competition. We could get them to pass to the open teammate since there was an extra offensive player. Some real games could be played and baskets scored. We had tried 5-on- 5 early in our camp years, but it had often turned into runaways with the ball, dribbling excursions away from the basket, little passing, little shooting, and a sort of mass chaotic madness that often caused piles of bodies. as other passive players drifted off seeking pigeons in the rafters. Then a few years ago, I had an especially fascinating collection of characters, cute, funny, energetic, positive. So I gave in to my own desires and announced impulsively, Let s play full court! Yea! they yelled. The big court? one boy asked unbelievingly. Yes, the big court! Yea! they yelled again. The game was ON and it became a fantastic madness! Not unlike what I described earlier, but when it was all done, they were sweating and smiling. It brought tears to my eyes, to be honest. They just loved to play! And compete! I ll never forget that game and will also never forget what Michael Jordan said, Let them have fun. They can learn the game as they go. Stage 3: Play Competitively Grades 3-4 Almost all kids in grades 3-4 can get the ball over a 10-foot rim. Still, it would be helpful to have lower baskets to raise their interest level and keep it there. IN- TEREST and EXCITEMENT TO COMPETE are keys that should be maintained while learning and practicing, even through the highest levels. In grades 3-4, skill work on fundamentals is important, so kids learn good habits early. It is hard to break habits later. They can start playing on real teams at this level. They will understand team play concepts fairly well in third grade and be able to start focusing and playing as a team in 4th grade. Games with scores at this level are healthy, and provides an excitement they want and need. People differ in opinion on starting this early, but from what I have seen, if your school or community is waiting until grade 5 to organize teams, the teams that have been playing in grades 3-4 are going to give them a whoopin which will hurt the all-important PRIDE and INTEREST level. Kids and parents don t like to lose. If you are not going to start your kids playing competitively until grade 5, then be careful not to schedule the best teams that started in grades 3-4, or you could risk a demoralizing situation in your program. A friend of mine coaching his grandson s team has reported scores like 60-4 in situations like this. That is not healthy for either team. If you start your kids later, get them competitive through practice and in-house games before playing the much-better teams. So, get them excited ages 1-5, teach them basic skills and keep them excited grades K-2, and start them on teams with real competition in grades 3-4. And always, keep it FUN and EXCITING at every age.

4 Pacesetter Newsletter North Dakota Basketball News February 10 Page 4 Four Winds-Minnewaukan is defending champ & No. 1 Continued from Page 1 pionship game, and point guard Steve Redfox, already established as an excellent floor leader. It s a long time between seasons for Four Winds-Minnewaukan although they fill the spring, summer and fall with basketball, too. When the new season started in December, McKay tweeted finally game day! and the fun began anew. They bolted out of the gate scuttling four teams ranked by Boys Hoopster, North Dakota's basketball preview book No. 38 Dunseith , No. 17 Grafton 83-50, No. 3 Dickinson Trinity and No. 9 Des Lacs- Burlington The Indians handed Carrington their first loss on Jan. 31. They beat No.4 Thompson last Saturday despite McKay fouling out (with 19 points) with five minutes left. Charlie Black hit a pair of free throws, then a layup off a Redfox bounce pass, then a basket off a rebound for a 7-0 run and finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds. The Indians drubbed Rugby this Tuesday with McKay scoring 28 points and Redfox 25. Their lone loss was a stunner as unranked Hillsboro- Central Valley beat them The Indians, including coach Rick Smith at far right, displayed their nets and No. 1 fingers after last year s state championship. Devils Lake Journal photo The success of the FW-M program has one painful by-product: making cuts, a rare situation for a Class B team. This year they had 52 kids try out and kept 30. It's not easy to tell a kid they can't play basketball, but it's something we have to do, Smith told the Journal. Fort Totten and Minnewaukan have a combined population of about 2,000 people. Games at Four Winds draw big crowds. At regional and state tourney time the Indians have a huge following wherever they play. The communities know that basketball is what they do there, and they do it well. Erik Olson at olsons1120@comcast.net

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6 Pacesetter Newsletter North Dakota Basketball News February 10 Page 6 VARSITY BOYS & GIRLS PACESETTER College of St. Benedict Thee Pac Th P Pa Pacesetter ac Minnesota Invitational ona nal To T Tournament urna ur name na mentt h has as b as been eeeen on o one ne of tthe ne h p he premier rem re miier e ssummer u mer tourname um tournaments entts in n the thee Midwest since NBA A players playyers r Joel Przybilla, Prz zyb y illlaa, Mike Mike Mik Mi ke Miller, Mil ille ille ler, r, Kris r, Kri riss Humphries, Hump Hu Hump mphr h ie hr i s, and Nate Natte W Wo o ohl hler e are a few of the many top male and female players who have played in the MIT. er Wohlers Th T he to ttop p teams from the 5-state area of Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin The aar re invited i v in are annually. Each year teams participate. All Al ll tte eam a play 5-6 games in two days. Teams play in regional brackets on Saturday (3-4 games) and teams ad dva van nc to Final Four brackets based on Saturday results for Sunday (2 games). nc advance Te eam ams that win the prestigious MIT championships will receive individual plaques. Teams with high Teams fini fi n ni s es sh e receive medals with neck ribbons. nishes Registration Deadline: July 21 (if not already filled) O On of the top facilities in the area will host Onee of Entry Fee $280 tthis th hiiss event: eve ve Claire Lynch gym at The College Online Registration: off St. St. t. Benedict B (St. Joseph). Contact Information: Inte tere re es Interested teams are encouraged to register Jeff McCarron at jeff@pacesetternet.com soon so on to to hold a spot. or call Tracey at Circle One: Boys Girls School Team Contact Person address (required) Day Telephone Cell Phone Mailing Address Alternate Contact Alternate s Cell #

7 Pacesetter Newsletter North Dakota Basketball News February 10 Page 7 The road to Minneapolis-St. Paul By Jeff McCarron Pacesetter Director Youth teams now have Midwest Madness Playoffs There is a tug-of-war on for basketball players. This battle splits two ways: the groups that offer allstar team or club team tournaments and the groups that offer school team or community team tournaments. At Pacesetter, we provide for the hometown team group, where youth basketball teams in grades 4-9 that are school-based or community-based now have a Final Four-style playoff system, the Pacesetter Great Four-State championships, that involve over 900 teams in four states: MN-IA-ND-SD. Pacesetter Sports started this system in 2010 to give school teams an exciting playoff to match or surpass the lure of AAU teams traveling to tournaments around the country. All players playing in the Pacesetter Playoffs must either attend the same school or live in the same city, school district or tribal community. Smaller schools with under 400 enrollment in grades 9-12 may combine if the total enrollment when combined is 400 or less. Teams begin with Region Playoffs in February-April in their own section of their state, seeking to advance to their state championships. The top two teams in their state tournaments then advance to the Pacesetter Great Four-State champion-ships in the Twin Cities. The Target Center hosted the championships from Due to construction this summer, the championships will be held at the Excel Energy Center in St. Paul. Last year Minnesota and North Dakota won four Great State titles, Iowa won three four-state titles and South Dakota won one four-state title. Here is the honor roll of the 2016 Great Four-State champions: MINNESOTA 7th Grade Boys Stewartville 9th Grade Boys Perham 8th Grade Girls Eden Valley-Watkins 9th Grade Girls Mountain Iron-Buhl NORTH DAKOTA 4th Grade Girls Bismarck Showtime 6th Grade Girls Central Cass 7th Grade Girls Dakota Thunder 8th Grade Boys St. John s/four Winds IOWA 4th Grade Boys Pella 5th Grade Girls Xavier Catholic 6th Grade Boys Mason City Fargo and Bismarck players dueled in the Great Four-State tournament last July in the Twin Cities. SOUTH DAKOTA 5th Grade Boys Sioux Falls Hurricanes Fliers, further information and registration are available at In following a tournament tradition, all teams playing in the Great Four-State tournament are invited to a large team meeting, which could be held in a Marriott or Radisson ballroom, a Timberwolves suite, or on the main Target Center floor the night before their event, and all players from every team are introduced in front of the hundreds of players, parents and coaches. Their teammates are their friends from their own community, and they will be playing together soon on the same high school team. Most of the parents have known every player from childhood. The next day the players get to play together in front of all their fans on the Target Center floor, home of the NBA Timberwolves and the WNBA Lynx. It doesn t get any better than that.

8 Pacesetter Newsletter North Dakota Basketball News February 10 Page 8 Questions? Call Pacesetter at or info@pacesetternet.com Follow our Facebook page: Pacesetter Basketball REGION PLAYOFFS Region Champion and Runner-up are invited to the North Dakota State Championship April 1-2 in Jamestown. Top two teams at STATE advance to Great State in the Twin Cities. Bismarck Showtime - 4th Grade Girls 2016 Great Four-State Champs Central Cass - 6th Grade Girls 2016 Great Four-State Champs Dakota Thunder - 7th Grade Girls St. Johns/Four Winds - 8th Grade Boys 2016 Great Four-State Champs 2016 Great Four-State Champs All grades refer to the school year. All players on a team must either be enrolled in the same school system or live in the same city, the same school district or the same tribal community. Smaller schools may combine to form one team if the combined enrollment of their high schools for grades 9-12 is 400 or fewer. Schools that combine should be from the same area. Region Playoff Schedule East Region: UND Grand Forks Saturday, March 4 Boys Grades 4 & 6, Girls Grade 5 Sunday, March 5 Boys Grade 5, Girls Grades 4 & 6 East Region: Fargo Davies Saturday, March 25 Boys Grades 7 & 9, Girls Grade 8 Sunday, March 26 Boys Grade 8, Girls Grades 7 & 9 West Region: Dickinson Saturday, March 25 Boys Grades 4, 6 & 8 Girls Grades 5, 7 & 9 Sunday, March 26 Boys Grades 5, 7 & 9 Girls Grades 4, 6 & 8 DEADLINE: Mail Prior Saturday Online 12:00 noon Monday Team Entry Form - NORTH DAKOTA Region Playoffs All players are from one school district. School district Combined team. List all school districts (See back for details) Site Grade Circle Boys or Girls Circle Rating: Strong - Good - Fair - Weak Team Contact Person Cell # Alt # Mailing Address address Team Color Alternate Contact Person Cell # (needed if two teams from same school register) (Street) (City) (State) (Zip) ( address required - Confirmation will be sent via - Please write legibly) $155/team 3-4 game guarantee Send check with this entry form to: PACESETTER, PO BOX 222, PAYNESVILLE, MN Registration also available online at The North Dakota state champion and runner-up in each grade are invited to the Great Four-State Championship in the Twin Cities. FREE Timberwolves Tickets ( season) All players will receive a free ticket offer!

9 Pacesetter Newsletter North Dakota Basketball News February 10 Page 9 What a pair: 15 straight for Velva-Sawyer By Bruce Strand In their first year as a pairing, the Velva-Sawyer girls have compiled an 18-2 record including 15 straight wins, climbing to No. 5 in the Class B media poll. Coach Chris Braaten said the team is anxious to see what it can do in Region 6 this year. Once tournament play begins it s a whole new season, Braaten told the Minot News. During the regular season the focus is more about the grind and improving as a team. But at tournament time, you look closer at the opposing teams and just try to move on and survive another day. The Aggies money player is 5-foot-10 senior guard Jonnah Lee, who s averaging 16.9 points, 3.5 assists, 4.1 steals and 7.9 rebounds. In the playoffs last year, Lee, then playing post for Velva, ended Bishop Ryan s three-year reign as state champs by leading an upset win with 23 points, 17 rebounds and seven blocked shots. Braaten cited 5-foot-11 senior center Morgan Erickson the most vocal leader, while averaging 8.2 points and 5.5 rebounds. Soph forward Rachel Mack adds 8.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, and junior guard Greta Florence 6.4 points. Smith racks up 53 for Williston Trinity Fifty-three points in one game. That was the final total for senior Austin Smith of Williston Trinity Catholic School in a Jan. 20 rampage against Burke County, leading a win. The Minot Daily News reports that his 53 is the high game in the state this season and that he broke Jarek Hanson s 2008 school record of 45 points. Trinity trailed by 12 at halftime. Smith had only 13 points at the break and poured in 40 points in the final 16 minutes. It was pretty cool, Smith told the Daily News. We were down at half, and we needed to get going. His previous high was 34 points. Frolek scores 45 in Wyndmere win Wyndmere-Lidgerwood s Peyton Frolek scored 45 of her team s 51 points in a win over Britton-Hecla (S.D.) last week, capped by her seventh 3-pointer of the game for the win with five seconds left. The senior guard broke the school record of 43 by Tonia Arth in Coach Erin Bohnenstingl said he s never met a kid with drive like that in my life Everything you tell her to do she does." Frolek, who s averaging 20 points and five steals, will compete for North Dakota State in track and cross country. (Fargo Forum) Solen boys finally vanquish arch rival The Solen boys, who were 0-6 against Shiloh Christian the last two seasons, including season-ending losses each year, finally broke through against the No. 3 ranked Skyhawks last week before an overflow crowd at Shiloh. Monte Carlow scored 32 points with 7-for-11 shooting on three-pointers for the Sioux (13-1). Brayden Uses Arrow, one of the Solen seniors, said people in Solen suspected there was a curse in the rivalry with Shiloh Christian that the team was determined to break. We circled this game, he told the Bismarck Tribune. We played a good game and finally beat this team. Jonas Mitel scored 25 for Shiloh. STATE RANKINGS BOYS CLASS B (MEDIA) (1) Four Winds-Minnewaukan 16-1 (2). Northern Cass 15-2 (3) St. John 15-0 (4) Dickinson Trinity 13-2 (5) Thompson 14-3 (6) Shiloh Christian 13-3 (7) Hillsboro-Central Valley 12-3 (8) Solen 14-1 (9) Linton- HMB 15-2 (10) North Star 13-3 BOYS CLASS A (MEDIA) (1) Dickinson 16-1 (2) Minot 17-1 (3) Fargo Davies 16-0 (4) West Fargo 13-3 (5) Bismarck Century 11-4 GIRLS OVERALL (MAX PREPS) (1) Bismarck Century 15-0 (2) Bismarck Legacy 10-4 (3) Mandan 9-6 (4) Grand Forks Red River 13-2 (5) Fargo Shanley 12-4 (6) Bismarck 9-6 (7) Fargo Davies 11-3 (8) Wahpeton 11-4 (9) West Fargo 12-3 (10) Bismarck St. Mary s 10-7

10 Pacesetter Newsletter North Dakota Basketball News February 10 Page 10 Pacesetter! CHAMPIONSHIP Basketball & Volleyball Camps Serving Hometown Teams since 1980 Camps that come to YOUR school! Comments from Host Coaches camps Great balance between skill work and compettitive games to keep kids engaged. Great camp, great competition, reasonably priced, can t wait till next year. Our campers were met with an enthusiastic and knowledgeable coach who desired to see each player improve their skills. Our director was amazing! He really worked with the girls well both as a team and individually. I was very excited and pleased to see the results from camp. I saw growth in every player... He helped me with my coaching questions. I was able to talk strategy with him and he gave me some drills and skills to address. I would love to host again... The Pacesetter Championship Formula 1) TOP COACHES - Master Teachers, Championship Coaches, Best Young Coaches 2) STRONG FUNDAMENTAL TEACHING - Through 37 years Pacesetter has fine-tuned it s program to provide players with the most important skills for game success at every age. 3) LOW COSTS - Most programs range from $50-$95 4) LOW RATIOS - Averages: 10-1 player/coach Select one of the most popular options or create your own... using the following hours and fees. SESSION LENGTH 3-DAY CAMP 4-DAY CAMP 1.5 HOURS $50/player $65/player 2 HOURS $60/player $75/player 2.5 HOURS $70/player $85/player 3 HOURS $80/player $95/player 4 HOURS $90/player $115/player 6 HOURS $120/player $150/player Sign up soon! - Only 5 schools will be scheduled for each week! Approximately $6-10/hour per player To Become a CHAMPION... Coaches: Book your camp today! Download camp brochure at Tracey: info@pacesetternet.com or call Learn from a CHAMPION