By Christopher Shaban
EAGLE TIMES SPORTS EDITOR
CLAREMONT, N.H. — Many high school students take the summer to enjoy some time off, work a job or just relax but then there are those gym rats that just can’t get enough round ball.
Steve Condon and his Stevens Cardinals girls team are hosting the summer league with local teams just looking to keep sharp and a bit more. “This is all about keeping the kids playing and having fun at the same time. We will be very young this season and the time we all spend here now will only help going forward” said Condon.
On Tuesday, teams from Newport, Lebanon, Kearsarge, Windsor and Stevens spent the night in a fan cooled Frederick Carr Gym, with the women’s coach from Colby Sawyer on hand to take in some action.
“This is good. Making plays, learning and picking up different skill sets is what we get from these games” said Newport coach Ross Dole as his team matched up against Stevens.
Veterans Kiley Bundy and Taylor Fellows squared off on nearly every play in some good, hard competition.
“It’s always a battle when Taylor and I get together. It’s fun and it gives the younger players a chance to see what will be coming this winter,” said the lone senior on the Cardinals team this season. Bundy works full time job from 7-3, plays soccer and lifts weights, in addition to basketball.
Fellows works a full time job, plays field hockey as well as basketball and wouldn’t change a thing. ”I play with the Western New Hampshire Warriors team, which is a really good program, but these games are about welcoming our newer players into the Tiger family and having fun” said Fellows.
Last season, the Windsor Yellow Jackets grabbed their second state championship in a row but the hard work is taking place now. The Lone Wolf AAU basketball program, out of Burlington, Vermont, features some players and coaches from Windsor. Kabray Rockwood is one of the coaches. He is joined by senior Sydney Perry on the U-17 team. Audrey Rupp, Sophia Rockwood and Brianna Barton lead a strong group of Jack juniors that know what it takes to win on the U-16 team. A total of 6 Windsor players spend their summers traveling. These teams just returned from a tournament in Kentucky that featured teams from all over the world and will head off to Atlantic City this weekend.
The Lone Wolf teams won the Silver category in the U-17 bracket and the U-16 team made it all the way to the semi-finals in the Gold division. “This was so much fun and the competition was unreal” said Perry. “There were some incredible teams from Oklahoma and Kentucky, as well as teams from all over the world. We brought so much knowledge back with us that will make us better” added Perry, who arrived late from her job working as a camp counselor.
“I think we set a world record with around 2,000 teams playing on 100 basketball courts. One of the convention center buildings had 84 courts inside. It was attached where Kentucky basketball used to play” said coach Rockwood.
The Stevens girls team will be headed to the University of Vermont this weekend for a jamboree. On Saturday, the Cardinals will take on CVU, then Spruce Mountain, before rapping up on Sunday against John Baptist and U-32. “This time of the year is so important. We have a great group of dedicated players and a solid support system with good leadership. This should be a fun weekend,” said Condon, entering his third season leading the Cardinals.
“Once the regular season ends, the training and hard work begins. These players are all multi-sport athletes. They all have great attitudes and are in great shape. When they’re not dribbling a basketball, they are off playing something else,” said Rockwood.
In the last game of the night, Windsor looked playoff ready and sharp as a knife. The Jacks worked on things that show up later in the winter season: where on the floor to set yourself when looking for the entry pass; when to put pressure on the ball handler and which direction to make them go; which side of the block to set up on; and, of course, the Windsor running game was front and center.
“I just love basketball and I love big competition. It was different when I was a freshman because of my sister. I always played against older players and this young group is learning just as I did,” Rupp said.
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