LOCAL OPTIMIST HOOPS PROGRAM BENEFITS YOUTH

A coach in the fourth- and fifth-grade Optimist Basketball Leaqgue gave players some pointers during a game out Feb. 3.

Good sportsmanship is one of the biggest aspects stressed in the Optimist Basketball league.

Fans watching Optimist basketball games get to see some good action. here, a player goes up for two in sixth- and seventh-grade action.

This Optimist playewr had his eye on the basket as he went up for a shot in the fourth- and fifth-grade Optimist action.

Optimist players learn the fundamentals of ball and handling and defense.

Some 445 Jackson area boys and girls are hitting the hardwood this winter, as part of the Optimist Youth Basketball League.

The Jackson Optimist Club, a 62-year-old organization, is responsible for 242 boys on 27 teams in three leagues during the six-week season that ends this week. Next weekend the annual tournament will be held.

The Optimist League has been around nearly as long as the club has been in Jackson.

"I played Optimist basketball myself, 45 years ago," said Don Sievers, basketball co-chairman. "We have no grandchildren playing. My wife and I do it because we enjoy it."

The league teaches basketball basics but also encourages teamwork and sportsmanship. It has a few of its own rules.

"We try to play everybody at least two quarters," Sievers said. "Everybody also has to sit out one quarter."

"Everybody has to play and everybody has to sit at least a quarter," echoed Billy Joe Thompson, Optimist president. "We basically use Missouri State High School Athletic Association rules, except for a few specifics like that. We also have high school players officiating, which allows them to get involved, too."

For the men, Sievers and Lou Rohlfs are co-chairs for basketball, with Bill Hess and Lloyd Birk also on the Basketball Committee. Other Optimist officers and members tend to frequent the games, as well, lending a hand if needed.

Teams have a practice night each week, beginning in November. On the boys' side the third-grade league and its seven teams usually play at South Elementary School. The fourth- and fifth-grade boys, with 10 teams, are usually at the new St. Paul multipurpose room. The sixth- and seventh-grade boys, meanwhile, with 10 more teams, generally occupy the old high school gym. They were in the new junior high school multipurpose building last weekend, due to the Class 4A district wrestling meet at the gym.

The club sends registration forms to area schools and has a sign-up in October.

"It's a $9,500 program," Sievers said. "The registration fees don't pay all of it. The club winds up paying for part of it."

The club does what it can to keep the teams balanced and competitive with each other.

"At the end of the season each coach fills out an evaluation of each boy," Birk said. "Then that's used to set up teams for the next year. We try to make it fair and equal' as much as possible."

They must be succeeding. From Don Sievers' day, to the new millennium, hundreds of Jackson youngsters each year continue to turn to the Optimist League for winter fun.

The girls' basketball league, sponsored by the Jackson Noon Optimist Club, will be examined in a subsequent Jackson USA article.