A Jr. Suns tournament was held at Cortez High School on November 19 where more than 10 Jr. Suns 7th and 8th grade division one teams from West Valley YMCAs gathered to participate in the day-long event.

The tournament profiled aspiring basketball players demonstrating their competitive nature while competing in team-emphasized games.

At the end of the day when the final buzzer sounded, it was Coach Kemnitzer’s team from Glendale/Peoria that stepped up and stood tall.

In the championship game it was the Glendale/Peoria team competing with the South Mountain Magic, two teams whose style of play was as far apart as the distance between their home YMCAs.

The South Mountain Magic had a perfect mix of size and athleticism, but was unable to use their advantages to win. The Magic had solid 3-point shooting and were tenacious with their rebounding, cutting the lead to five points with four minutes to go in the fourth quarter after trailing by as many as 20 points earlier in the game.

But every time the Magic made a run, Glendale/Peoria’s “do it all” point guard Connor was there to answer right back. Connor knocked down six-straight free throws in the last 20 seconds of the team’s semi-final game to preserve the win and was borderline unstoppable, whether it was on offense, defense or in transition.

The Glendale/Peoria group displayed a solid knowledge of playing team basketball in their two victories.

Coach Kemnitzer’s team was just too tough to handle for the Magic. In addition to Connor, they had a dominating big man, two solid forwards and a core of role players who understood what it meant to play together.

“We played great defense all day and that was the difference in the tournament,” Coach Kemnitzer said. “We hustled and never gave up. We kept pushing the ball and running hard. We really played as a team.”

One theme echoed throughout the tournament was competitiveness.

“I like these tournaments because we get to play competitive games and they’re usually officiated well,” Connor said. “By being a Jr. Suns member, I’m able to have fun and learn proper fundamentals.”

“Today was just a day of good, quality competition,” said Ed Lenehan, one of Glendale/Peoria’s Jr. Suns coaches . “The kids are able to learn good sportsmanship, values and respect while playing hard in as many as three games during the tournament.”

“These tournaments give the kids a chance to learn basic life lessons,” Coach Kemnitzer said. “They get to grow and learn how to win or lose with respect in a good, competitive environment.”

The tournament is just one of the many benefits being a Jr. Suns member offers.

“The Jr. Suns program helps these kids better their skills for the future,” 10-year referee Mick Varela said. “I think its great for them, there wasn’t as many opportunities when I was a kid.”

“The Jr. Suns league is very well managed and put together,” said Dave Kral, father of Jr. Suns member Ryan. “There are an adequate number of games and there is good spacing between seasons. They really do a great job.”

Be sure to visit Jrsuns.com for next month’s Gym of the Month visit.