From Dr. Paul Drew
Hi everyone, my name is Dr. Paul Drew. It’s been a long time since I could write about youth basketball. Many of you know me as DocDrew, the author of the Swish, which is about youth basketball at the Santa Monica YMCA. Unfortunately the pandemic stopped our program in March 2020 and we were hoping to return this fall, but the season has been canceled due to the high COVID numbers.
Hopefully the Santa Monica YMCA will return to youth basketball next winter, but it will depend on many factors that will help bring youth sport back to the gym.
Beginning around April this year, Tom Chambers helped start weekly youth basketball games on the outdoor courts of Lincoln Middle School on Sundays, and many other parents on the YMCA program began taking their children out every Sunday.
I recruited more kids, organized more, had referees, and brought back shirts that Tom Chambers bought and donated from the YMCA.
Before the end of summer we had almost 30 children every Sunday. The coaches Bill Kravitz, Rick Moncher and I helped to split the teams evenly and to lead the games. We also had help with the referees from the young talented player Clark Elliott.
We also had guest coaching from Mark Ulrich and Jonathan Folonis from Santa Monica High School girls and boys basketball.
Before you know it, it was a Sunday the kids shouldn’t miss, especially during this pandemic season when the kids were chewing on pieces to get out and do something physical and have social interaction.
We also brought our attention to Lamondo Greer, the regional director of youth basketball for several YMCAs in the West. He came out to watch our Sunday basketball and was impressed with the enthusiasm of the children and compliance with COVID precautions for wearing masks.
He invited the children to play Culver / Palms games on their open space at the YMCA on three Sundays in September. All players wore masks, and ages 12 and up had to be fully vaccinated.
Additionally, we’ve been invited to have teams from Santa Monica and the Laker Youth Foundation for their upcoming fall outdoor youth basketball league.
12/9/21: We had a 10-11 year old team playing one game and a 12-14 year old team playing two games against Culver / Palms teams.
Culver / Palms YMCA wore their Clipper jerseys and the Santa Monica team wore their Laker Youth Foundation jerseys. So, in a way, it was a cross-city rivalry that helped build confidence in the kids on both sides and create a fun atmosphere.
In the 10-11 year olds’ first game with coaches Craig Pariser and Paul Drew, we had 14 children, including the following:
Dagmawi Ayele
Ryan Chambers
Dominic Drew
Harlan Mansfield
Kai Badat
Rayan Etemadnia
Noah Hagooli Bolaños
Alden Wong
Cam Parisian
Kai Halpert
Caden Feradouni
Aiden Lin
Alec Ackermann
Cassius Taylor
The Junior Lakers put up an incredible effort against an already organized team that played in the league that summer. The game was close, with the Junior Clippers ousting the Junior Lakers 27-25. The children look forward to another rematch next Sunday.
The trainers Craig Pariser and Paul Drew discuss the strategy with the Junior Lakers.
The Junior Lakers’ 12-14 year old team played the next two games using the following line-up, coached by Brian Phalen:
Dean Phalen
Jack Phalen
Alec Ackermann
Jesse Lister
Joey Little
Sasha Yansen
Nathan Petros
Adi Petros
Quay Mevasse
Leo Mooney
Jew fools
Julian arias
Xailoh Hermosillo
Rowan Booher
In their first game, the Junior Lakers jumped into a big league that they never had to give up to win 44-22.
It got tighter in the second game, especially with a Junior Laker team that was a bit tired from foreplay. Tight game with the Junior Clippers ahead of the Junior Lakers 35-31.
19.09.21:
In the first game with the 10-11 year olds, with coaches Craig Pariser and Bill Kravitz, they had 10 children, including the following:
Dagmawi Ayele
Ryan Chambers
Dominic Drew
Dylan Kravitz
Noah Hagooli Bolaños
Cam Parisian
Kai Halpert
Gavin O’Brien
Jarvis Wakefield
Aiden Lin
The Junior Lakers’ 12-14 year old team played the next two games using the following line-up, coached by Brian Phalen:
Dean Phalen
Jack Phalen
Cassius Taylor
Parker Cappiccille
Sasha Yansen
Nathan Petros
Adi Petros
Quay Mevasse
Leo Mooney
Jew fools
TJ Turner
Rowan Booher
The first game of the 10-11 year old Junior Lakers against the Junior Clippers turned out to be a guaranteed classic in the history of youth basketball.
It was a back and forth battle with multiple leadership changes.
In the final seconds, the Junior Clippers managed to pocket a fade-away shot over three Junior Laker defenders to gain an advantage with less than 10 seconds in the game.
The Junior Lakers quickly went into the ball, only to lose it 5 seconds before going out.
After a time-out and some strategy, the Junior Clippers had the ball out near midfield, and what followed became a moment for the ages.
The junior clipper player tried to fit the ball in by trying to go through Jarvis Wakefield’s legs; However, he managed to pick it up and hand it over to his best friend Cam Pariser, who did a few dribbles and fired a deep three-point shot from about 10 meters from the basket.
As the ball soared slowly up into the air, the game buzzer sounded, and for a brief moment we all watched in slow motion to see what would happen to the shot.
Wipe !! Nothing but net. And the entire Junior Lakers team ran to bully Cam, hold him up and congratulate him on the greatest shot of his life.
The entire bevy of parents, coaches and players waiting to play the next game applauded and cheered, which was a remarkable moment.
I have been involved in many youth basketball games and have never had a moment like this, and it was very special for a great kid.
Both teams congratulated each other on the remarkable performance of both sides and showed what youth basketball is all about.
In the second and third game of the day, the 12-14 year old Junior Lakers competed against two different Junior Clippers teams
Game # 2
The Junior Clippers took an early lead but the Junior Lakers fought on, with the game leveling off in the third quarter. However, the more experienced Clippers were able to control the second half via the newly formed Lakers. Final score 35-29.
Game # 3
The Junior Lakers began to show their experience in the game together in the previous game and showed a great performance against the stronger of the two Junior Clipper 12-14 year old teams. Many Lakers bounced off the larger Clippers.
In the end, the Lakers ran out of gas and they gave up a buzzer beater lay to lose 36-34 but showed great courage and teamwork that will carry them into the fall season at the Culver Palms YMCA.
Overall, it was a great youth basketball day that all players will never forget. Special thanks go to Lamondo Greer for inviting me to take part in these games and the upcoming fall league.
09/26/21
Only game on the schedule today, with the rubber match between the 10-11 year old Santa Monica Junior Lakers versus the Culver Palms YMCA Junior Clippers. Unfortunately, the Junior Lakers lacked the Summer Beater Cam Pariser, who had to be quarantined because of a Covid-positive classmate.
The following players represented the Junior Lakers, trained by Bill Kravitz and Josh Wakefield:
Ethane pages
Aiden Lin
Ryan Chambers
Rayan Etemadnia
Noah Hagooli Bolaños
Kai Halpert
Jarvis Wakefield
Dylan Kravitz
Gavin O’Brien
Dominic Drew
The Clippers took the lead early, but the Junior Lakers kept coming back and it was a tie at half time and it went up and down the second half. The Clippers took the lead with 31:26 in the final minutes.
Instead of handshakes and high fives, everyone present gave both teams applause for their great performance in youth basketball.
Stay tuned for future editions of the Swish for the Santa Monica Junior Lakers fall season.
Here are my photos of the 10-11 year olds:
We were blessed to have Louis Yansen with us for the 12-14 year olds and provided the following photos to show the atmosphere and spirit of youth basketball:
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