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| Trent Tobias looks for an open teammate in recent sixth grade action. |
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Untitled Page
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Team
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CCC
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ALL
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Covington
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10-2
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13-7
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Newton
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10-2
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15-5
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Mississinawa Valley
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9-3
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11-9
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Twin Valley South
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8-4
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13-7
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Tri-Village
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8-4
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11-9
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Arcanum
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7-5
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12-8
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Ansonia
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7-5
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11-9
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Franklin Monroe
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5-7
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9-10
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Bethel
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5-7
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9-11
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| Miami East |
4-8 |
5-15 |
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Tri-County North
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3-9
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4-16
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National Trail
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1-11
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1-19
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Bradford
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0-12
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1-19
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January 28, 2007 – COVINGTON
Not long ago the old basketball courts by the Covington Middle School were rarely used. You could drive by just about every day and see rims without nets and not a soul to be found.
That all changed in the early part of the decade when you would always see the likes of Jason Meyer, Bert Roeth, Jared Meyer, Josh Burelison, and others playing pick-up games on a daily basis.
Soon you would see younger kids creating their own pick-up games or just shooting around on the courts on a regular basis - just to emulate the big boys.
More recently, the familiar faces on the courts were the likes of Richard Canan, Darin Rhoades, Dusty Kimmel and others.
The players previously mention were pivotal in some memorable seasons over the past few years at the high school level, but their impact on Covington basketball may not be yet realized.
That's because through all of their games and all of the time they spent on the blacktop courts at the Middle School, there was a young group of kids taking notice - the current sixth grade class.
If you take the time to notice, you'll always find a core group of kids in that class who are always around the high school kids. Whether its being ball boys at football and basketball games or participating in youth camps, the younger kids never miss an opportunity to be close to their heros - the high school kids.
It's kind of comical to watch the youngsters. They do everything like the high school kids from the way they walk to the way they talk.
They're even learning to play like them too, maybe even better.
I've heard on numerous occasions how talented the sixth grade class is in basketball, so I went over to the middle school to watch them play out of curiosity.
What I found was most of the high school basketball players were there too, including some of the recently graduated players.
It's really cool to see the kids the youngsters look up too take the time to support them.
What I also found was the sixth graders were pretty impressive on the court as well. I've seen them shoot baskets during half time of high school games, but I've never actually seen them play in a competitive game. Although I know very little about basketball, I came away very impressed with how well they play as a team.
To me, they look like a mini version of a high school team.
Now I'm not saying it's time to label these kids as the future "Kings of the Court" or "State Champions" because that's not fair to the kids or those who are close to them. They are just kids who are learning how to play and a lot changes between sixth grade and high school. There's no need for added pressure on those kids to perform because that happens way too often in today's world of sports.
But after watching them play, it's obvious they have been impacted by positive role models in the Covington community - and that's the high school kids who have come through the school in recent years.
Hopefully the current sixth grade class and those to follow will learn the most valuable lesson from the current Buccaneers' basketball team - STICK TOGETHER.
Like I said, the current and former Buccaneer players' impact on Covington basketball may not be realized for some time.
Hopefully that time will be fun to watch as well.
Story by Ben Robinson
