Youth league allows Mariposa players to give back

After winning the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V championship Friday, most of the Mariposa County High boys basketball players spent the night in Sacramento and returned to Sleep Train Arena on Saturday to watch the other section championship games.

Many of them didn’t return to Mariposa until late Saturday night, but by 11 a.m. on Sunday they were back in the Loyd Hobby Gymnasium so they could coach their teams in the Mariposa Youth Basketball League.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Mariposa senior Dalton Rockwood, who scored 35 points in the title game victory over Brookside Christian. “After every game, we would take a picture with them and the blue banner. We always got an applause from the parents,” he said of the Sunday youth games.

“They were excited. A lot of the kids went to the game on Friday night. They were really excited to see the banner. The kids were fighting about who got to hold it during the pictures.”

Rockwood and many of his teammates were introduced to basketball through the Mariposa Youth Basketball League. Now it’s their turn to coach and mentor the kids beginning their journey into the sport.

The program was started by Mariposa High coach Bob Jaekle and his wife, Amber Chambers, nine years ago. That first year there were 65 kids in the program. This year there were about 90, starting with third-graders up through sixth grade.

“I had been coaching in the high school program and I saw a hole in the calendar in the community between football and baseball seasons,” said Jaekle, whose team will play a NorCal Regional second-round playoff game at 6 p.m. Saturday at Merced College. “I had a son interested in basketball. I was interested in basketball. We decided to start the program. We gave it a shot to see how it went.

“The first couple years, we had about 25 parent coaches and that wasn’t working too well. We went to the high school kids, and it’s been great for the high school kids.”

Ten of the 15 players on the Mariposa basketball roster came up through the youth basketball league. The program started when the high school team’s seniors were in the fourth grade.

“Going into the program is when I first started playing basketball,” said Rockwood, who has been coaching in the youth league since he was in seventh grade. “I remember coach Bob coming to speak at our elementary school when I was in third or fourth grade. That was the first time I even thought about playing basketball.”

“I know it helped me a lot,” said fellow senior Bradley Chambers, who is Jaekle’s stepson. “It helped get me ready to play basketball in junior high. I would have gone into junior high not knowing the rules or any fundamentals like shooting, dribbling or making a layup.”

The Mariposa players work with the kids twice a week when their high school schedules allow it. There’s one practice during the week and then the games are held on the weekend, usually on Saturday at the high school gym.

Players like Chambers, Rockwood and his brother Noah haven’t missed a game day for the youth league in six years. Even after a long trip down the mountain on a Friday night for a Southern League game, they’re back in the gym on Saturday morning to be there for the kids.

The program has set up a way for the high school basketball program to give back to the community, and it has set up a strong bond between the high school players and the kids in the program.

Many of the kids were in the stands during home games on Friday nights during the season and many made the trip to Sacramento to watch their heroes win the school’s first section championship.

“My wife said she saw about 35 kids wearing Mariposa Youth Basketball League jerseys in the stands,” Jaekle said. “The high school kids become role models for the little kids. They follow them around; they go to games and then on Saturday mornings they come in and they are these kids’ heroes.”

Jaekle enjoys watching some of the frustrations his players go through as coaches, such as when they tell their young players to do something and it’s not done immediately.

“It can be a challenge,” Bradley Chambers said. “You’ve got to remember when you were a kid and not willing to do drills. They get a little squirrely at times. For the most part, they are there to have fun.”

Rockwood says the high school players gain as much from the interaction with the younger kids as the beginning players do.

“It’s great. I’m always happy to be there. I know I was one of them at one time. I know I’m helping them have fun and helping their future,” he said. “It’s a great experience. It teaches us how to be with kids and help teach them.

“We’re helping kids with the game and we’re learning a lot of life lessons while we help them.”

This story was originally published March 9, 2016 at 4:06 PM with the headline "Youth league allows Mariposa players to give back."