Just Like I Thought....

The Janesville Lutheran Invitation Tournament (JLIT) over the weekend was a lot like I thought and remembered, but different too.

The core of the 43rd tournament matches most of the memories I grew up with, but I'm going to start with my observations and recollections in the gym.

My thought watching the young men (7th & 8th grade) on the court was that they seemed so small.  I seem to remember big kids elbowing each other to get in position for rebounds and lay-ups.

Just as each game came to an end on Saturday there was a brief medal ceremony.  Players, cheerleaders, coaches, and mascots were called forward to receive a medal marking their participation in St. Paul's annual tradition.

I'm not sure when medals started getting handed out, but in the one year I was part of the JLIT as a player we didn't receive one.  If they had, I'm not sure it would still be with me, but I do still have an early Flames booster button that is older than that.

Lutheran Schools from Illinois and Wisconsin comprise the field and its a different world now for young athletes.  The Flames are part of a large Badgerland Lutheran Athletic Conference and all elementary and middle Lutheran Schools can compete to earn an invitation to a National Invitation tourney.  I remember trips with the "B" team to Portage and Lombard in 7th grade and to those as an 8th grade member of the "A" team as well as our own tourney and that wrapped up our season.

Yet as things look familiar they've also changed.  The court hasn't moved, but it's the third court since the one I played on.  A wood floor covered the tile gym floor we had, and that wood floor was replaced with the beautiful court the kids play on today.

The biggest change, and I think its unfortunate is that
visiting players and cheerleaders no longer are housed with host families from the school and church.

It's a massive undertaking to find housing for seven visiting schools to be sure.  But the experience I enjoyed staying with gracious host families in Lombard and Portage were important building blocks during that stage of my young life.

We met our host family for the weekend, introduced ourselves and met their families.  The father in one host family was a commercial airline pilot who flew from Chicago to Minneapolis when he went to work.

Another host family had a cool pool table in their home in the woods.

In the most ironic of the host families I was with, a friend of mine from the team who also sat closer to the end of the bench than the front and I, was the star player of the host school!

I don't think he was real thrilled with that, but he invited us to a gathering at another players house that night anyway. 

Staying with a host family became a time to get a taste of independence and make new acquaintances.  The kids now don't get that, but they have an opportunity for fun with their friends and families in a nice place that usually has a pool.

The best memory that rang true was the game itself.  Players on both sides fought hard and gave their all, but exhibited good sportsmanship.  There were disputed calls, but no temper tantrums.  There were handshakes after the game.

Sports aren't everything and sometimes have too elevated of importance, so it was nice to see a weekend gathering new and old friends around a common interest for good fun and fellowship.

Here's to another 43.

The alma mater, if one can say that about where I graduated from 9th grade, played in the JLIT title game against Lombard.  The Eagles put out the Flames, 35 - 27.