WALKER, La. – The North Corbin Junior High School boys’ 8th-grade basketball team recently completed the 2012-2013 season with a perfect 22-0 record, winning the Livingston Parish District I Title and earning the championship honors in the 2013 Livingston Parish Tournament and Livingston Parish District I Beginning-of-the-Year Tournament.

“At our first practice the players and coaches sat down and came up with a list of goals we wanted to accomplish this season. Winning games wasn’t on the list. Instead we focused on being successful students in the classroom, positive role models to our peers, leaving it all on the court, and making sure that we represented our school in a positive manner as we competed against other schools,” said Head Coach Rudy Smith.

“ As the season began we started to see that the goals we had set for ourselves, along with hard work and effort, had made our team stronger both mentally and physically and was contributing not only to our success off the court but on the court as well,” he said.

“We are extremely proud of this group of young athletes for reaching their goals and being among the best students and athletes in the parish,” Smith said.

The North Corbin Junior High Boys’ Basketball Team recently completed an undefeated 2012-2013 season to win the 2013 Parish District I Title. The team is pictured with its 2013 Livingston Parish Tournament first-place trophy; from left to right, are Coach Rudy Smith, Jace Valenti, Le Davis, Darius Hampton, Lane Thomas, Preston Smith, Jashawn Garret, Josh Cook, Daryl Carter, Coach Louis Moore, Jalen Perkins, Anthony Carter, Paul Loper, Quashon Clark, Dalton Moore, and Coach Tim Arbour.

Live Oak Middle wins their 2nd straight national title! They compete today (Sunday) for their 2nd straight Worlds title. Live Oak High will compete in Medium Varsity Finals today too after placing as one of the top 4 highest scores in the prelim round & bypassing the semi-finals round for a shot at a National title too. This is all taking place at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL at the most prestigious cheer competition there is – UCA’s National High School Cheerleading Championship. Also, Denham Springs High will compete today in the Large Varsity division and our Parish has 2 recreation squads that compete today, Hurricane Rec & Jacket Rec. Additionally, Westside Junior High finished in 7th place Saturday in the Small Junior High division.

Submitted by Susan Newson

8^th Grade Group Tallies 50-1 Record Over Three-Year Run

DENHAM SPRINGS, La. – The Southside Junior High School girls’ 8th-grade basketball team won the 2013 Livingston Parish District Title with an unblemished season that included winning first place in the Livingston Parish Tournament, St. Teresa’s Brett & Brett Tournament in Gonzales, and the Livingston Parish District Beginning-of-the-Year Tournament.

The team is led by a group of players who have played together for the past several years, accumulating a remarkable 50-1 record since sixth grade under their Head Coach Lisa Dugas – the best record of any team in her 17 years of coaching.

“This is truly a special group of young ladies who share the talent to play the game, a willingness to work hard and the dedication to stay on task. They are fun to coach and watch play, and I look forward to seeing them develop their game at the high school level in the coming years,” Dugas said.

The team’s 8th-graders include Kedranea Addison, Christina Canale, Jayley Clouatre, Madison Cresie, Nautica Maryland, Cathryn McClanahan, Jessica Paige Rabalais, Tremeeka Spikes, and Caroline Taylor. Seventh-graders Raven Barze, Kaitlyn Friedman and Celine Rodriguez also played on the team. Kade Bourg was the team’s manager.

Dugas said the team’s 50-1 three-year record is the best finish of any school team in her 17 years of coaching at Southside Junior High. The team’s only loss came to Albany Middle School in the team’s first game of it 6^th grade season.

Dugas noted that one player, Caroline Taylor, is the only player during that same 17-year-span to have started every 8^th grade game for three years, beginning when she was a 6^th grader.

Dugas said the team’s greatest challenge came this season in the parish-wide tournament. Southside defeated Holden, 34-32, in a semi-final “come-from-behind nail biter” that included a clutch 3-point-shot to tie the game and a defensive steal that led to the go-ahead basket in the waning seconds of the game. Southside advanced to the championship game against Doyle, which was undefeated at that time, winning that game by a 12-point margin.

Southside Junior High out-scored opponents this year by a margin of 37.5 points to 21.1 points per game. The team was led in scoring by Taylor, who tossed in 9.4 points per game, Addison with 9.2 points per game, Spikes with 7.0 points per game, Canale with 4.7 points per game and Clouatre with 3.8 points per game.

“One of the impressive things about this team has been its unselfish play and shared scoring attack from all five starters,” Dugas said. “If statistics had been kept on assists, those numbers would have been as evenly distributed throughout the team as well.”

Southside Junior High finished out the season defeating all its challengers, including Live Oak Middle School, Albany Middle School, Westside School, Juban Parc Middle School, North Corbin Middle School, and Denham Springs Junior High, as well as Episcopal School of Baton Rouge and Prairieville Middle School of Ascension Parish whom they met in the Gonzales tournament.

“This team has enjoyed a remarkable run. I’m so proud of their efforts on and off the court. They displayed great composure and sportsmanship week after week, and they maintained their focus to finish undefeated – that’s quite an accomplishment,” Dugas said.

The team is pictured with its 2013 Livingston Parish Tournament trophy. Pictured, left to right, are: (front row) Celine Rodriguez, Nautica Maryland, Jayley Clouatre, Caroline Taylor, Christina Canale, Madison Creecy, (back row) Kade Bourg, Kedranea Addison, Tremeeka Spikes, Raven Barze, Jessica Paige Rabalais, Coach Lisa Dugas, Kaitlyn Friedman, and Cathryn McClanahan.

Coach Greg Jonson, Bryant Jonson, Wyendell Jonson, Garrett McMorris, Coach Randall McMorris, Coach Clint Woods ; Caleb Woods Justin Watts, Trenton Mizell, Nick Hoyt, Hunter Singletion, Remie Watts, Tanner Jonson, Riley Jones, BK Smith, Brandon Kline, Brant Smiley and Scotty

The LPR 9u All Star Boys Baseball team took 1st place at the Memorial Day Classic in Kenner this weekend.

Hunter Wheat, Nick Forbes, Landon Wolfe, Cade Watts,  J.T. House,  Luke Jones,  Braden Wascom,  Hunter Whittington, Elijah Burns, Collin Hayden, and Colton Cowser

Coaches: Bobby Cowser, Dale Hayden and Ryland Watts

15-yard penalty. Technical Foul. Penalty Stroke. These are just a few examples of penalties that result from unsportsmanlike conduct such as excessive celebration during a sporting contest. For more serious instances of unsportsmanlike behavior including altercations, there are fines, suspensions and bans from tournaments or post-season play among other punishments. Why suffer through penalties or pay thousands of dollars in amends when you can just as easily be a good sport?

Good sportsmanship is the most important aspect of the game. Sometimes games will get intense, heated and personal; therefore, sportsmanship must be learned in order to be practiced in sticky situations. If athletes weren’t reprimanded for unfit behavior, there would be no guidelines for others to follow. Of course there’s talent and hard work, which are both very important parts of sports, but without sportsmanship and self-discipline, there would likely be chaos throughout various levels of play.

When athletes go “beyond the game,” they look outside of what it takes to win a game, but decide to be a good teammate, good opponent and good person. Everyone may have a tad bit different definition of good sportsmanship, but first-class sportsmanship all leads to the same goal of having clean, fun competition with the outcome of creating champions who excel both on and off the court.

The Louisiana State High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) held its first annual “Beyond the Game” Sportsmanship Essay Contest this past spring, and Louisiana high school students wrote what they uniquely held as the true meaning of sportsmanship. St. Paul’s School Freshman William Kenyon won the contest with his essay “The Field of Dreams.” William explained that not only was sportsmanship an important aspect of sports, but it was also an important aspect of everyday life.

“When thinking about sportsmanship, most people only think about the sport side of sportsmanship and not about the real everyday side. The reality is that sportsmanship is in anything and everything that we do both on and off the field. How do you respect anyone or anything without sportsmanship coming into play? The task is formidable.” – Winner, St. Paul’s School Freshman William Kenyon

For his winning essay, William will be presented with a $500 check at the Louisiana High School Coaches Association’s (LHSCA) annual Coaches Clinic in July.

A few other top essays described what it takes to be a great sportsman. These were written by: St. Paul’s High School Freshman Peyton Lacoste, Cedar Creek High School Freshman Aaron Hunt, Elton High School Senior Morgan Richard, Cedar Creek School Junior Jeff Carroll and Ursuline Senior Elissa Parker.

“Respect the team that beats you by one run, one point, or one field goal. Life is too short to hate people. Life is too good to dwell on a loss. You will always get another chance to do well in the sport or in other situations in life. Take advantage of what you have and always remember opponents are not your enemies.” – Peyton Lacoste, St. Paul’s

“If you understand the significance of perseverance, it will provide you with the ability to overcome any obstacles placed in front of you and allow you to succeed on and off the field.” – Aaron Hunt, Cedar Creek

“Sportsmanship is found in every level of every sport. It is the common theme that unites not only the players but the teams; and its effects are felt long after the final whistle blows.” – Morgan Richard, Elton

“I discovered that playing sports is much more than just a competition – it is an opportunity for participants to develop as people and build character by playing fair.” –Jeff Carroll, Cedar Creek

“I am privileged to know the true meaning of sportsmanship; a word that teaches athletes the authentic meaning of their sport and enables them to conquer any goal they put their mind to.” –Elissa Parker, Ursuline

What’s your definition of good sportsmanship?

Walker Basketball Camp
Boys and Girls Entering 1st grade- 8th grade

DATE: May 29th – June 1st – Camp time will run from 9:00am to 12:00pm.

LOCATION: Walker High School (Glenn Ellis Gymnasium).

FEE: $60.00- Pre-Registration if you mail the application by May 24th. $75.00 at the door on June 1st.
$45.00 for each additional child in the household.

FEE INCLUDES: Camp T-Shirt, and individual and group instruction

MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: Anthony Schiro

MAIL TO: Walker High/ Coach Schiro 12646 Burgess Ave.

Walker, LA 70785

CAMP FOCUS: Individual and group instruction on the basic skills of the game including: defense, passing, shooting, and ball

handling.

CAMP COACHES: Anthony Schiro * Anton Schwartz * Shannon Lowe * Current and Former Wildcat and Ladycat Players.

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GRADE IN AUGUST:____________
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T-SHIRT: YOUTH SIZES SM MED LG (CIRCLE ONE)

ADULT SIZES SM MED LG XL