independencemo.news
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Jordan Cornett Tate aims for a layup while coach Tasha Smith looks on. Below, an unidentified player gives the basket a long look.
Pee-wee
B-ball
March 21, Vol. 3.7
Below, from left, Marianon Marquez and John Smith guard Leo Edgeworth as he looks up to the basket
By Gordon L. McBride
Each Saturday morning starting in early winter nearly 700 boys and girls ranging in age from kindergarten to eighth grade converge on the junior high school gymnasiums to participate in the Independence Youth Athletic Association, IYAA, winter basketball leagues.
As many as 18 gymnasiums are pulled into action the teams work through their eight game season, plus a mid-season and season-ending tournament.
Parents step in to coach and manage each team. Players pay $110 to participate. That includes uniform and the cost of officiating.
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Inside...
Above, John Smith leads the fast break as, from left, Leo Wedgeworth, Kamden Johnson, Nathan Butts, Venicio Cantu, and Khadafi Clark give chase. Below, a pee-wee clings to a free ball in the midst of a scrum on the floor.
Below, moms and dads, grand dads and grandmas, uncles and aunts cheer. At left, all arms going after a rebound. While at left, it's a reach for a free ball.
Scholarships are available to players who are unable to handle the initiation fee. The Positive Lie Athletic Youth association conducts fundraisers to cover the cost of scholarships, John Campbell, a Positive Life officer, says.
Carl Stobick heads the IYAA with assistance from about 20 other adults who make up the board.
Bob Harper, owner of ACS Electronics, assists with the fundraising efforts and is the adult coordinator for PLAY.
The goal of the basketball program, Campbell says, is to develop basketball skills that will prepare them for high school competition.
Harper says that one of the players that he is most proud of, named Melissa, started out as a competitor in the league between 1996 and 2000 and is now coaching a team.
The program was run initially by the Independence, MO, parks and recreation department. IYAA stepped in when the city dropped its program.
Winter youth basketball has a long history in the city. As early as the 1950s grade school age boys played organized basketball Saturday mornings in the Memorial Building near downtown Independence.