Category: Tulalip News

Start small, aim high: Biddy Ball

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

The Tulalip Youth Services mission is to serve all youth by utilizing recreational and educational programs. That mission was put to service on Saturday, February 11, in the form of a Biddy Ball tournament.

“2017 Biddy Ball was family fun for everyone, and Tulalip Youth Services wants to thank all of the families, participants and volunteers for helping make this a day to remember for all of the youth that participated,” stated Josh Fryberg, Youth Services Coordinator. “Youth Services is looking forward to many more great programs for 2017.”

Biddy Ball provides a great tool for developing our youth in the sport of basketball while helping children to gain knowledge, skills and competencies that are an important part of a global, multicultural society.

To assist in its mission, Youth Services provided the venue, healthy snacks/drinks and all the modified equipment necessary to fit the young athletes. From the size of the balls, the height of the rims, to the size of the courts, everything about Biddy Ball is slightly modified to permit the young and highly spirited players to learn the fundamentals of the game while indirectly improving a wide range of cognitive and social skills.

Approximately forty mini-hoopers attended, falling under one of three age groups: 3-4 years old, 5-6 years old, and 7-10 years old. Concluding the 1:00pm – 5:00pm event, was an awards ceremony in which each and every participant received a commemorative t-shirt, medallion and trophy for all their hard work.

“Thanks everyone for coming out and bringing your little ballers!,” said Sheena Robinson, Youth Services Activities Specialist. “I enjoyed every little bit of it. The faces when they got their prizes was priceless.”

 

 

Lady Hawks soar with 66-35 playoff win

 

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

The (16-3) Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks entered the District 1B Tournament as the #3 overall seed, and as such earned the right to host a first round home game. They hosted the Grace Academy Eagles on Tuesday, February 7, at Francy J. Sheldon gymnasium.

The Lady Hawks had beaten the Eagles twice during the regular season, both games were 21-point victories. However, the postseason always brings a new level of competitive play in a pressure filled environment. It’s what the Lady Hawks have been waiting for all season.

After coming out of halftime with a 27-18 lead, Tulalip caught fire from 3-point territory and whenever the long ball wasn’t there, a simple post pass to Deandra Grant got her in position to score down low. Led by their own version of a “Big 3”, guard Keryn Parks (22 points), guard Aliya Jones (16 points), and forward Deandra (18 points) combined to score 56 points on route to a 66-35 victory over Grace Academy.

Hawks fall to Mt. Vernon Christian, 30-66

 

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

The (8-11) Tulalip Heritage Hawks entered the District 1B Tournament as the #7 seed, and as such traveled to Mt. Vernon to take on the local Hurricanes of Mt. Vernon Christian on Tuesday, February 7.

The Hawks were never able to get their offense going in this one. In fact, the 30 points scored was the second lowest scoring output on the season. On the defensive side, they had no answer for the Hurricanes best player, #15 Bryson Smith, who was able to get to the rim whenever he wanted. When the Hawks adjusted their defense to pack the paint, the Hurricanes responded in kind by making 3-point shots. It was just one of those games for the Hawks where the matchups weren’t in their favor.

Guard Paul Shay, Jr. led the Hawks with 10 points, while Nashone Whitebear and Josh Iukes both added 6 points.

Following the loss, Tulalip will now play in a loser-out game with their opponent to be determined.

Go Hard or Go Home winter season

 

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

Created in February of last year, the Tulalip Go Hard or Go Home community basketball league just completed its third season. Developed and organized by Youth Services staff, with games hosted at the Tulalip Youth Center, the league is a prime outlet for basketball players of every level. And most importantly, everyone is welcome to participate.

“I feel this basketball league brings the community a tad bit closer to our youth by connecting with them, being in our home gym competing and having fun,” says Tulalip Activities Specialist and league co-coordinator Shawn Sanchey. “It’s a great activity to keep our youth and community active while keeping a consistent workout available.”

In its third season there were nine teams playing, with each team carrying eight roster spots. Including the add/drops, there was an estimated eighty players who hooped it up on the Tulalip hardwood on a weekly basis. Ages ranged from early teens to elder statesmen. The league is also co-ed by design, a rule is in place stating each team has to have a female hooper on the court at all times.

 

“To me, it brings the community together in a positive healthy way,” states fellow co-coordinator of the league Darcy Enick-Grant. “Of course mostly locals participate, but the league gives us an opportunity to welcome other friends and athletes to our reservation. We see families supporting their loved ones, see our youth participating and helping keep score. Overall it brings our community together.”

Giving Tulalip ballers the best bang for their buck has been a priority through the first three seasons. In fact, costs have been minimal and the amount of games plenty when compared to surrounding basketball leagues. This latest Tulalip league charged only $150 per team for a season comprised of ten regular season games, plus playoffs. That’s close to nothing when compared to the near $600 per team fee that most leagues commonly charge for only a guaranteed six to eight games.

“My favorite moments from this league is no matter what the outcome, our people have a good time playing ball and they end up with smiles on their faces!,” adds Shawn. “I think everyone loves the experience of having our own league in Tulalip.”

 

 

Going forward, Youth Services staff will continue to look for ways to make the league better and more official. Possibly increasing the team entry fee in order to have patched refs work each game would bring a more organized feel for sure. Also, better planning for rules and regulation would be clutch, so all players and league staff are on the same page at all times.

Be on the lookout for future league notification in the Tulalip See-Yaht-Sub. If you have any questions or would like more information about the Tulalip basketball league, please contact Josh Fryberg, Youth Services Coordinator, at 360-716-4908.

College hoopers inspire Quil Ceda Tulalip students

 

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

On Friday, February 3, the always energetic morning assembly at Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary (QCT) received a special visit from the very successful Skagit Valley College women’s basketball team, featuring Tulalip’s own Adiya Jones.

The assembly focused on the importance of staying in school and doing your best every day in and out of the classroom. The student-athletes of Skagit Valley passed the mic around and told the youthful students about the importance of being a good citizen in order to achieve their dreams.

 

 

Hearing Adiya and her teammates speak on the values that they as college student-athletes feel are important is a source of inspiration for the young, spirited minds of QCT. Especially when it comes to being able to hear from Adiya, who grew up in Tulalip, went to school in Tulalip, and is now succeeding on the college level.

“Assemblies like this are a win-win for everyone involved,” says Steve Epperson, Skagit Valley Athletic Director and women’s basketball coach. “The college team gets the experience of talking with students, answering questions, talking about their experiences and challenges they faced with being successful in school. They also get to talk about their college experience and the importance of staying in school, being good citizens, and studying. All values that are required of students today.”

For the elementary students, they not only got to see and hear from student-athlete role models, but also got to interact with them on the basketball court. The women hoopers held interactive demonstrations with the students that included various dribbling drills, a shooting display, and a short scrimmage.

 

 

Following the assembly, the Skagit Valley athletes split up and went to individual classrooms where they got to further interact with the students. They helped them with their in-class assignments and continued to answer questions about college and playing basketball.

The Quil Ceda Tulalip / Skagit Valley experience was beneficial not only for the younger students, but for the college students as well.

“I think that’s really good for both groups,” adds Coach Epperson. “The elementary students get to see role models, ask questions, and see how exciting it can be to be successful in college. While being a valuable experience for the college students, too, as learn to step up as role models and give back to their communities.”