Hoops and Cheer League finishes season
Published 10:34 am Wednesday, March 15, 2017
by Steph Wood
COURTLAND
On Saturday, the Kids Kab Hoops and Cheer League held their first Championship Saturday at Riverdale Elementary in Courtland.
In the Midget Division championship game between the Blue Devils and Seminoles, the Blue Devils won by the score of 26-9. — Submitted | Steph Wood
Championship Saturday began at 10 a.m. with the Midget Division championship game between the Blue Devils, coached by William Brown, and the Seminoles, coached by Nicole Williams. The Blue Devils won the championship by the score of 26-9.
The Junior Division then played promptly at 11:30 and featured the Bucks, coached by Anthony Wiggins, and the Lakers, coached by Lafayette Smith. The Bucks won the championship by the score of 38-33.
The inaugural Hoops and Cheer season began on Jan. 21 and each team in both the Midget and Junior Divisions played six games. The teams were then seeded by their regular season records and the top four teams in each division competed in the play-offs. The final two teams in each division competed for the championship. One-hundred fifteen children participated in the league’s first season to include 20 cheerleaders. The league was officiated by certified VHSL and Collegiate officials.
The Seminoles were the runners-up in In the Midget Division championship game against the Blue Devils. — Submitted | Steph Wood
“Having these guys officiate the league really taught the kids how to value the game,” said Executive Director C.C. Cooper, who is also a certified official.
“We taught while we officiated the games, we engaged in the kids and I believe that helped them to learn,” he added.
The games were held at Southampton Middle School and Riverdale Elementary each week.
“I am so grateful to Southampton County Public Schools, Mr. Darren Bell and Mr. Will Melbye for their support all season,” said Cooper.
Awards were presented on Championship Saturday. Midget Division Coach of the Year was awarded to Ray Tucker of the Spartans. Junior Division Coach of the Year was presented to Eric Benton of the Warriors. Plaques were presented to each Coach of the Year and to each Player of the Year. The Player of the Year for the Midget Division was Adin Brown, and D.J. Dillon was player of the year for the Junior Division. The champions and rphies and each participant received a medal.
In the Junior Division, the Bucks won the championship 38-33 over the Lakers. — Submitted | Steph Wood
“I am so proud of all the kids in the league, they improved each week,” said. Cooper, “Saturday was a wonderful day.”
Jackie Robertson is the president of the Board of Directors for Kids Kab and had this to say when asked about the league, “It was awesome! I loved every minute of it and I am super excited to keep this thing going for these kids.”
Kids Kab is a non-profit organization with a mission to support, empower and cultivate youth by providing safe, inspirational and educational activities and transportation for school-age children. Kids Kab was founded in January 2016 by local community leader and mentor Cooper.
In addition to the Hoops & Cheer League, the organization has several programs that impact the community in a positive and hands-on way.
The Kids Kab Mobile Mentors program provides mentoring to children every day while transporting them to and from their educational and enrichment activities. Currently, the organization has 40 children enrolled in this program.
The Lakers were named the runners-up in their game against the Bucks last Saturday. — Submitted | Steph Wood
The Mobile Meals division began providing hot meals to the underserved population of our community in December 2016, and is a part of the Summer Food Service Program Sponsor Council for Share our Strength.
Lastly, the organization has recently launched Skill-Fit. This program is designed to inspire, motivate, teach and demonstrate a healthy lifestyle and work-out and skill development routine for children to decrease the number of children who experience obesity, anxiety, depression and other health problems. This program will also assist in the educational development of students using kinesthetic training and action-based learning to enhance their attentiveness in class.
After the overwhelming response of the Hoops and Cheer League, the organization has decided to offer more basketball for the summer. Kids Kab will host a Summer Basketball Skill Academy and a Summer Basketball League.
“We have to keep these kids involved in something positive,” said Cooper, “I participated in these types of leagues when I was growing up and I loved it. It is time that some of us guys step up and make a difference for kids like so many did for us.”
You can learn more about Kids Kab by visiting www.kidskab.org. The registration deadline for the Summer Basketball League is May 26. Registration for the league is $35. You can also contact Cooper at 653-6239 for more information.
