JANUARY 14-
(By Abraham Montijo)
20 participants signed up to play with ages ranging between 7 and 12. There were four divisions; a 2-bounce shorts court division, 10 year olds, 11 year olds, and 12 year olds.
The short court division was for the younger kids (7-8yrs) and a couple of girls that just began playing a few weeks ago. The format was rotation, with the first one to 11 winning. Second place was the second person to score 11. This was a surprisingly competitive event, as the older kids and adults cheered the young kids on. The winner of this event was 11 year old Angelica Hernandez. The runner up was 10 year old Opal Robinson.
In the 10 year old division, it was Manny Lopez domination the field. The 10 year old Lopez had a little trouble hitting his serve over the line at first, but once he got warmed up his power and speed overwhelmed the other juniors. His opponent in the finals was 9 year old Jennifer Tovar. Jennifer is a very competitive girl, she has to be being the younger sister of her two older brother that were in the tournament as well. She will be one of the better women players if she continues playing. Very impressive making it to the finals against all the boys, and only being 9 years old!
The 11 year olds were by far the largest and most competitive field. The winner of this division was Rosita Howard, a very gifted and talented girl that has only been playing handball for a few months, but already shows the skills and competitive nature to be a top junior player. Her focus and power were the main difference in the finals, as she beat Jesus Tovar 21-14. I was very proud to see Rosita go through a very tough field of boys and come away victorious. No one practiced harder the past few months and it really showed. Fred Lewis also showed up and gave her a few words of advice which gave her extra motivation through the competition. Rosita will now try her skills on a 4-Wall court as she will now join the Yes-2-Kids program.
The 12 year olds were a very interesting match up. It featured Dylan Key, a 4-wall player that is quickly improving to be one of the best junior players in the country, and Lorenzo Tovar, brother of Jennifer and Jesus Tovar. Lorenzo is a very talented Big Ball player that has been practicing very hard these past few months with his father, brother, and myself. His power and big ball skills were the difference as he forced many errors to be committed by Dylan. Dylan's 3-wall inexperience also showed as Lorenzo won the match 21-11 to take the title. These two highlighted the days events. They were the models for the younger kids that will follow their footsteps in the years to come.
This was a very successful event! The participants all received shirts. The winners not only received trophies, but also gloves and headbands which were provided by the USHA. The response I received from the kids was the same as the last tournament, "when is the next tournament going to be?" It just shows that these kids love competing and it is our job to keep feeding their hunger to keep the next generation of handballers alive.
(By Abraham Montijo)
20 participants signed up to play with ages ranging between 7 and 12. There were four divisions; a 2-bounce shorts court division, 10 year olds, 11 year olds, and 12 year olds.
The short court division was for the younger kids (7-8yrs) and a couple of girls that just began playing a few weeks ago. The format was rotation, with the first one to 11 winning. Second place was the second person to score 11. This was a surprisingly competitive event, as the older kids and adults cheered the young kids on. The winner of this event was 11 year old Angelica Hernandez. The runner up was 10 year old Opal Robinson.
In the 10 year old division, it was Manny Lopez domination the field. The 10 year old Lopez had a little trouble hitting his serve over the line at first, but once he got warmed up his power and speed overwhelmed the other juniors. His opponent in the finals was 9 year old Jennifer Tovar. Jennifer is a very competitive girl, she has to be being the younger sister of her two older brother that were in the tournament as well. She will be one of the better women players if she continues playing. Very impressive making it to the finals against all the boys, and only being 9 years old!
The 11 year olds were by far the largest and most competitive field. The winner of this division was Rosita Howard, a very gifted and talented girl that has only been playing handball for a few months, but already shows the skills and competitive nature to be a top junior player. Her focus and power were the main difference in the finals, as she beat Jesus Tovar 21-14. I was very proud to see Rosita go through a very tough field of boys and come away victorious. No one practiced harder the past few months and it really showed. Fred Lewis also showed up and gave her a few words of advice which gave her extra motivation through the competition. Rosita will now try her skills on a 4-Wall court as she will now join the Yes-2-Kids program.
The 12 year olds were a very interesting match up. It featured Dylan Key, a 4-wall player that is quickly improving to be one of the best junior players in the country, and Lorenzo Tovar, brother of Jennifer and Jesus Tovar. Lorenzo is a very talented Big Ball player that has been practicing very hard these past few months with his father, brother, and myself. His power and big ball skills were the difference as he forced many errors to be committed by Dylan. Dylan's 3-wall inexperience also showed as Lorenzo won the match 21-11 to take the title. These two highlighted the days events. They were the models for the younger kids that will follow their footsteps in the years to come.
This was a very successful event! The participants all received shirts. The winners not only received trophies, but also gloves and headbands which were provided by the USHA. The response I received from the kids was the same as the last tournament, "when is the next tournament going to be?" It just shows that these kids love competing and it is our job to keep feeding their hunger to keep the next generation of handballers alive.
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