Brookfield/Elm Grove Monthly
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/133261
SPORTS Page 2B • Freeman Brookfield & Elm Grove JUNE 2013 Junior Lancers keep growing Brookfield Central builds strong feeder program By Daniel Mike Freeman Staff Robert F. Borkowski/Special to The Freeman Learning how to fish BROOKFIELD – Volunteer Rick Bell shows Jacob Fischer the correct way to cast with a rod and reel during the 'Kids Fishing Clinic Day' at Fox Brook Park recently. IN BRIEF Flag football registration under way Central sixth-graders win state championship BROOKFIELD – Flag football registration has begun in the city of Brookfield. The flag football program is open to all residents of the Elmbrook School District in grades three through six. Elmbrook School District residents are any individuals residing within the EBSD limits. Nonresidents of the Elmbrook School District may apply to register. Participants must enroll into the grade level they will be in the 2013-14 school year. There will be separate leagues for the third and fourth grades, provided there are sufficient player registrations, and separate leagues for fifth and sixth grades based on registration. Teams will meet one or two days per week to practice/scrimmage or play. All games will be played on Saturdays, from Sept. 7 through Oct. 12. Practices will take place on weeknights. Registration is online, by mail and in person. Go to the city website for more information. BROOKFIELD – Brookfield Central defeated Appleton East 55-23 in the sixth-grade boys basketball championship game of the Wisconsin State Invitational Championship Tournament last month. Muskego nipped Hamilton 38-37 for third place, while Arrowhead lost to Sun Prairie 32-28 in the fifth-place game. Menomonee Falls finished seventh, Kettle Moraine finish 11th, Brookfield East placed 15th and Mukwonago was 16th. The all-tournament team included Brookfield Central's Jack Cooney and Cole Nau, Hamilton's Tyler Ellingson and Jack Fierst, Arrowhead's Tyler Gouin, Kettle Moraine's Tate Kopulos, Muskego's A.J. Makinen and Menomonee Falls' Danny Sawicki. – Special to The Freeman Hojan-Clark 10th in NCAA gymnastics UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Garrek Hojan-Clark, a graduate of Brookfield Academy and a former gymnast at Salto Gymnastics in Brookfield, finished 10th on the pommel horse at the NCAA men's gymnastics championships at Penn State University last month. – Freeman Staff BROOKFIELD – Dave Carnell wanted to see a lot of players on the basketball court. There already were several players in the Junior Lancers boys basketball club, but the club's director wanted even more. "When I first took this job four years ago, I told (Brookfield Central High School) coach Mark Adams I would like to build upon the foundation we already have," Carnell said. "We went from 60 up to 100 kids in our program. Now we have 11 teams ... and it's growing every year." When Carnell took over as director, the program had one team at the fourth-, fifth-, sixth-, seventh- and eighthgrade levels, with each team having 12 players on the roster. Now, the Junior Lancers field two teams at fourth through eighth grade with smaller rosters. Last winter was also the first time the program fielded a third-grade team. "We were missing a little bit because we had 12 kids on a team," Carnell said. "I told Adams, 'You mean to tell me in the whole district there are only 12 kids who can play basketball at each grade level?' "With 12 kids on a basketball team, there's only so much playing time and the better players are always going to be good. But what about the kids at the middle or lower? They're sitting on the bench and watching. We want them to get better. With two teams of eight or nine, everybody's on the court more, playing time increases and they're gaining more experience." Adams said the youth program will keep the Central program – a perennial power in the Greater Metro Conference – at a high level. "Any varsity coach will tell you it's our lifeline," Adams said. "We've taken it to anoth- Submitted photo On Brookfield Central's sixth-grade invitational championship team are, from left: bottom row – Mark Czechowski, Mark Walters, Drew Leszczynski, Gage Malensek, Matt Brayer and Michael Nau; top row – Connor Kolb, Cole Nau and Jack Cooney. At a glance What: Brookfield Central Junior Lancers boys basketball program Director: Dave Carnell Teams: one team at third grade and two teams at fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grades More information: www.jrlancersbb.com er level. People right now in our community are enthusiastic about basketball and want to ride that as long as they can. "They run things as we do in the high school program as far as plays and defensive fundamentals. Kids come in from the junior program to freshman tryouts and we throw terminology out there. We're not having to reteach things." The Junior Lancers have had a measure of success, and the most recent success has come from the sixth-grade Blue team that won a state title earlier last month. The same group of players won a fifth-grade title the year before. "We have a really good group of kids," said Mike Nau, who coaches the sixthgrade Blue team. "We do everything the varsity does, and the kids are really lucky because they are able to learn a lot." The Junior Lancers pro- gram is funded mostly through a tournament it runs near the end of January The . two-day tournament features teams from third grade through eighth grade and is held at Central, Wisconsin Hills Middle School and the School of Christ the Lord. "Most of the high school kids come back and work the score clocks for the kids," Carnell said. "They want to help out because they've been through it when they were younger and now it's time to return the favor. In the past we limited it to eight teams per grade level, but last year we had such a high response from teams that we're now up to 84 teams. "Parents volunteer their time, and there's a lot to do. We do a lot of fundraising there and it allows us to play more games, play in a summer league and we're also able to give back more to the schools with different things. "The goal is trying to partnership with the school district and community to work together." That partnership is going well. The high school team's success has more youngsters interested in the sport. In turn, the interest at a young level is paying off with a lot of instruction for players so they are prepared when they get to Central. "I get calls from coaches, and they ask for specific players or coaches to come to a practice," Adams said of his high school team. "The kids look up to these guys. You see a lot of the junior kids at games, and often we'll have a section where they all sit together. "Our guys going to practices and showing things, it's very impactful." The Junior Lancers' success has carried on throughout the year, and players are showing more and more deciation. The last two summers, Carnell ran a boot camp for players three days a week for six weeks. The camp began at 6:30 a.m., and Carnell was surprised how many from the club showed up. "It's summer vacation, and they want to sleep in," Carnell said. "Last year we had about 65 kids who showed up. They weren't at every one, but they were at the majority of them working their tails off." The players are putting in that work hoping one day to lead the Central team to success. "They're understanding that by working every year, every little bit is going toward the goal of being a varsity player," Carnell said. "It certainly helps, but there are no guarantees." Email: dmike@conleynet.com Dr. Mark R. 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