District move scores basketball team for villages </MCC HEAD>

Story last updated at 7:03 PM on Wednesday, December 16, 2009

District move scores basketball team for villages

By McKibben Jackinsky

After playing as a basketball club last year, Nanwalek School is getting a chance to take the next step in competition, thanks to a green light from the Kenai Peninsula Borough school board. Meeting Dec. 7, the board unanimously gave its approval for the district to sanction Nanwalek's basketball program, in cooperation with neighboring Port Graham School.

"I think anytime you have athletics and any extra-curricular activities, you just give kids an extra spark and a reason to be at school," said Sunni Hilts of Seldovia who represents areas of the southern peninsula on the school board. "They love basketball. Nanwalek played last year and has a lot of enthusiasm. This is going to be a positive thing for them."

"I think anytime you have athletics and any extra-curricular activities, you just give kids

an extra spark and a reason

to be at school."

- School board member Sunni Hilts of Seldovia

Hilts has seen firsthand the difference offering basketball can make, with Seldovia's experience in the reverse. This school year there aren't enough students at Seldovia's Susan B. English school to continue the basketball program.

"And unfortunately, when there's not enough, more students leave," Hilts said."

Nanwalek Principal Scott Handley said 10 Nanwalek students have expressed an interest in playing basketball.

"We have 24 (students) in high school, so if we have 10 come out for basketball, we figure 50 percent participation is a pretty good percent," Handley said.

Adding to its strength, the board's approval means the team can pull members from the nearby communities of Port Graham, as well as Seldovia.

The three small communities are connected by air and water, but do not share a road system.

"We have such a limited population that we're trying to find alternative ways to get kids involved, whether it's sports or clubs," said Riley Justice, who teaches grades six through 12 in Port Graham. The school has a total enrollment of 14 students.

Sports activities play an important role in students' overall development, according to Handley.

"This development really helps with social and leadership skills, as well as being good students in the classroom," he said.

For starters, each basketball player had to meet the eligibility requirements of the Alaska School Activities Association.

"All our kids are meeting that standard and we hope to hold them to that standard throughout the season," Handley said.

The team's first competition will be against Nikiski's varsity team, played at Nikiski Monday, Dec. 21. Other games are scheduled in January.

Between now and then, the players will get in as much practice as possible, in spite of the challenges the team faces.

"Some of the boys participating on our team will be practicing with the girls' team in Seldovia, then coming over here during (Christmas) vacation to practice with our team," Handley said.

"It'll be really interesting. Nanwalek is a sharing community as far as helping people as they arrive and so forth. I think people coming over to participate will find plenty of places to stay with our local community. This will help all three of us just develop tighter bonds."

McKibben Jackinsky can be reached at mckibben.jackinsky.@homernews.com.