South Charlotte Sports Basketball Tryout Boot Camp

Friends

I wanted to share this new and exciting basketball camp with you

When I heard about the 125 kids that tried to earn a spot on a local Middle School roster last winter, I knew that I had to come up with something to help kids through the emotional rollercoaster of tryouts. So many of these kids had all the tools needed to earn a position, but somehow became lost in the pack of players.

I have worked real hard to develop a first class basketball event that will focus on preparing 6th-9th graders for the School Tryout Process. My goal is to provide a simulated basketball tryout to give your child every advantage possible for the school tryout. This two day event (October 18 and 19) will feature many of the coaches that work at the school your child attends, giving them a chance to become more familiar with the kids. I am also very excited to say that Ardrey Kell Head Coach Mike Craft is helping me with the overall leadership of the camp. Mike is one of the top teachers of basketball in this area and has been a huge help to The South Charlotte Sports Report and our basketball programming.

This camp, held at Community House Middle School will focus on 4 key elements of the basketball tryout process:

Gaining a Psychological Advantage during the tryout.

Developing the Physical Conditioning necessary for a successful tryout

Applying the proper basketball fundamentals in each tryout drill

Catching the coaches eye when the court is crowded with other players.

We cannot guarantee that our camp will earn your son or daughter a place on their school team, but we can guarantee that if your child will accept the teachings of the camp and apply what they learn during this camp, they will enter tryouts with an advantage other players may not have.

This camp, open to boys and girls will operate under the same commitment to first class instruction that the community has come to expect from The South Charlotte Sports Report.

Please be kind enough to pass this around to others that may be interested. Don't wait to long to register at http://southcharlottesports.com/news/2008/bballbootcamp.html

We have a limited # of positions open in this camp and I didn't want any of you guys to miss out.

Thanks so much for your support,

Tripp Roakes

Sign Up at http://southcharlottesports.com/news/2008/bballbootcamp.html

For those that receive this that may not have a child in these grades, please keep an eye out for our next youth camp to be held before basketball season.

ZICO PASUT HEADED FOR PIRATE COUNTRY

Ardrey Kell High School tight end Zico Pasut has been in the stands for East Carolina's two season opening wins over nationally ranked Virgina Tech and West Virginia. Those two wins propelled East Carolina to # 14 in the country and led Zico to cast his lot with the Pirates next season. The multi talented tight end made an official commitment to East Carolina on Wednesday night, choosing the Pirates over Virgina Tech and West Virgina.

The Pirates have to be excited about landing the rugged football player. The offense run by Skip Holtz at East Carolina should make good use of Zico's pass catching abilities.

The South Charlotte Sports Report congratulates Zico Pasut on achieving this level of success and choosing the East Carolina Pirates!

NOT ENOUGH JERSEYS FOR AREA KIDS

NOT ENOUGH JERSEYS FOR AREA KIDS

Last season I penned a column about the number of kids trying out for middle school athletic teams versus the actual number of positions available. The response I received was overwhelming to say the least. As schools were jammed full with kids, no one thought about how we could provide equal opportunities to these very athletic and ambitious student-athletes. Some Charlotte Mecklenburg Middle Schools witnessed 130-150 7th and 8th graders attempt to earn a position on the school football team. Basketball teams offered 15 positions for the 100-120 kids that tried out. Baseball followed with similar turnouts. A lot of very talented kids were left without a fair opportunity to compete for their school.

Let’s compare two Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) Middle Schools and the opportunities they provide. School A, located in another part of Charlotte had 700 Middle School Students and a maximum roster of 45 football players. School B, located in South Charlotte has been jammed full to the point of needing trailers to handle 1800 plus students. Number of football opportunities for School B…. 45. So with nearly three times as many students, they offer only 45 opportunities to play football and wear the colors of their school with pride.

I sent an inquiry to Vicki Hamilton, CMS Athletic Director and a very talented one at that. I wanted to find out if CMS thought this was a problem or if anything was being done and why things were so different between CMS and Union County School. Vicki’s reply included some of the CMS rules and regulations as well as the comment that “there is no plan at this time to budget to expand middle school athletics to create a 7th grade and separate 8th grade team in 13 sports offerings.”
Probably not what a lot of current Middle School parents would like to hear. Especially the ones that dealt with very upset children this week that were cut from the football team.

Since I mentioned Union County, I believe it’s very important to commend them on the approach they have taken to middle school athletics. Every sport except for basketball and basketball cheerleading is operated by very strong booster clubs. These booster clubs work hard to provide more opportunities for their students. For instance, Weddington Middle School has a 6th, 7th and 8th grade Football Team. They begin practice on August 1 versus September 3rd for CMS. They play big games on Saturday afternoons and never have to worry about darkness cutting their games in half like CMS Middle Schools run into for the last two games of the season. The Union County Schools also have a playoff system and treat the season as something special. Kudos to the Weddington and Marvin Ridge Booster Clubs.

It’s also important to point out that budget should not be something that prevents the schools from providing more opportunities. The kids already pay a large activity fee to participate and I know the power of parents in South Charlotte. If they need to raise money to make something happen they will, at no extra cost to the school system. If the wonderful folks out at Weddington and Marvin Ridge can make this happen, why can’t the families of South Charlotte Middle Schools?

Maybe it is time for some “outside the box” thinking. I would like to see CMS follow the Union County method of letting the Middle School Athletic Programs be run by Booster Clubs. It would be one less thing for CMS to worry about and they can take the money they spend on the programs and use if for something else, maybe even start to build another much needed middle school in South Charlotte.

We are leaving too many kids on the sidelines by sending them to middle schools with 1800 kids and 140 kids trying to earn one of 45 positions on a football team. If CMS can’t address the problem, then maybe it’s time for someone else to come in with a plan that will create competitive opportunities for these student-athletes. The South Charlotte Sports Report is always open to new programming ideas and joint ventures. If you have a plan we can work on, give me a call or send an email to Tripp@southcharlottesports.com

It’s important to note that I don’t intend for this column to be against CMS as I am a proud CMS Parent and Supporter, but the size of the school district and overcrowding of the schools has created some problems and this is one that probably doesn’t get a lot of attention downtown at the main office. That’s understandable with all the eligibility problems and paperwork they have faced the last year. Vicki and her staff are good people, they work a ton of hours each week to stay on top of all the high school and middle school programs and maybe deep down they realize the problem, but know the time and resources aren’t there to fix it.

It kind of scares me to know exactly how talented my five year old will have to be when he gets to middle school. By then, there will probably be 2500 kids at his school, with 40 trailers parked around the football field like a campground with 250 kids trying to earn a spot on the football team.

The South Charlotte Sports Report operates under the goal of creating opportunities for the youth in the community. We have a lot of smart folks in South Charlotte; maybe one of them will come up with the right idea and give me a call. Let’s work together to find more opportunities for the kids.