March 19, 2024

Column: In a winter sports state of mind

With the cooler temperatures of late, especially on Thursday, I’ve been put in a winter sports state of mind.

The Newton Daily News sports staff is putting finishing touches on the 2017 Jasper County Winter Sports Preview section, due out on Wednesday. The section features all the winter sports teams from Newton, Prairie City-Monroe, Colfax-Mingo, Lynnville-Sully and Baxter high schools.

The special section will be in Wednesday’s Newton Daily News and in next week’s Jasper County Tribune, Prairie City News and Monroe Legacy.

Friday night the girls hit the basketball courts. Newton High’s Cardinals are hosting their annual four-team Cardinal Holiday Girls Basketball Tournament. It is a two-day event.

There are five teams involved in this years Newton girls’ tournament — North Polk, Carlisle, Prairie City-Monroe, Chariton and Newton. The format is different — two games each day with no championship or consolation contests on Saturday.

Also on Friday, Lynnville-Sully opens at home Friday against Iowa Valley and beginning it’s first basketball season as Baxter in many years instead of CMB, Baxter is on the road at BCLUW.

All the area girls’ basketball teams will be in action on Tuesday. Perry is at Newton, PCM is at Knoxville and Colfax-Mingo is at East Marshall. The big area game will be Lynnville-Sully at Baxter on Tuesday.

The Newton/Colfax-Mingo/Pella boys’ swim team begins the 2017-18 season Tuesday in a dual with Indianola at home at the Newton YMCA. The NCMP boys have just three home meets this season — all before Christmas. The NCMP Cardinal Invitational is Dec. 2 then NCMP hosts Des Moines Roosevelt on Dec. 19, which is Senior Night.

Area boys’ basketball and wrestling teams spring into action following the Thanksgiving break. Newton’s girls and boys open bowling season Nov. 30.

Sports are not easy — fun, but not easy. Athletes and coaches invest their time, effort and emotion in competing at as high of a level as they can each and every practice and competition.

As I covered the Newton athletes and area school’s athletes, I recognize the dedication they and their coaches have had not just during the season. Success comes from the effort put in during the offseason combined with the season’s work.

The fall sports seasons are in the book for 2017 for the area high schools. These athletes just move on to the next sport as do coaches. Parents, fans and sports writers also move to the next season.

So, here we are on the cusp of winter sports season, are you ready for some action? I’ve always been of the belief of embracing who is on the teams as my teams. We can’t worry about who is missing from a team and what another team is doing.

We embrace who are team is and who we are as fans. We cheer them on no matter what the outcomes are along the way.

When I was growing up in a very small town in Kansas, the high school teams were not very good. We played eight-man football and got rolled. We played basketball and got thumped. Once we began high school wrestling, we had individuals who were pretty good, just like our track and field teams over the years.

I went to Kansas State University, where basketball was king — yes, basketball. The Wildcats won Big Eight Conference championships when I was in Manhattan. Football not so much.

I learned to embrace all of the Linwood Junior High and High School athletic teams for who they were. Growing up a K-State fan, I did the same with the Wildcat teams.

It’s always easier to be a fan or a participant when a team is winning. When a team is young and struggles or just struggles, it’s not as easy. I’ve always said ‘I was a K-State football fan before it was cool to be a K-State football fan.”

Be a fan and follow your teams through the ups and downs, twists and turns of each season. Cheer them on always.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets
at jsheetsnewtondailynews.com