All-Star hoops game at NIC hits its stride

A couple of things worthy of a few comments:

•The Idaho High School All-Star basketball doubleheader for the top senior boys and girls in the state is an established success.

The all-star games were the brainchild of North Idaho College athletic director Al Williams, and he must be commended.

It was a risky proposition when Williams talked his school’s booster club into putting the games on in 2004. The booster club lost money the first two years, Williams said. But with the help of four major sponsors underwriting most of the key expenses, the booster club has made money the last two years.

For the first time, the North boys and girls swept the South teams last Saturday in two highly entertaining and competitive games. In Williams’ mind, those games convinced him that NIC should continue to sponsor the games.

The test of anything new is time. And it appears the South players now consider this a must-attend event. A crowd of 812 – the largest for the event – turned out Saturday.

“It was the best participation we’ve had from the South,” Williams said. “They brought a lot of fans, too – more than they ever have. I’m happy with the attendance considering how much is always going on in this area. It’s only going to grow. I think it’s going to take off now.”

Williams’ major concern was the lopsided nature of the games the previous three years. Just one North team – the boys in 2005 – had been competitive until the North boys and girls prevailed Saturday.

“I don’t have to worry about changing the format because the North can compete,” Williams said. “What’s neat about this is it’s special for the kids. This is, more or less, their McDonald’s All-Star game.”

•A couple of comments regarding Title IX were made recently on my blog along with an insulting e-mail to yours truly. Someone thinks I’m anti-girls sports.

But I’m a big proponent of girls sports. So much so in my humble perspective that I’ve been accused by some diehard male sports fans (read: old-time coaches) of being a bit overboard in my coverage of girls sports.

Let’s be honest here, folks. Show me the gate receipts for all sports at any high school in the state and football would rank first. In fact, on an average, the highest-ranking girls revenue-producing sport (basketball) would be about fourth in a mixed list with boys sports.

So I called retired Kellogg High girls coach Mary Jean Hinkemeyer, who was inducted into the Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame last weekend, to get her perspective on girls sports. She is considered the pioneer of girls sports at Kellogg after Title IX went into effect in the 1970s.

Hinkemeyer has read recently where the Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls school districts have been accused of violating Title IX. She finds that hard to believe.

“Maybe somebody is just trying to stir the waters,” was Hinkemeyer’s first reaction to my questions. “I don’t think there’s any question that girls have more opportunities (athletically) today. The girls have every opportunity possible. … There are opportunities in the fall, winter and spring for girls.”

Hinkemeyer said some folks might have concerns about the number of under-varsity girls teams offered. But if under-varsity teams aren’t equal with the boys, Hinkemeyer suspects there could be an obvious reason why.

“Sometimes numbers dictate how many teams you can field,” she explained. “If you don’t have enough girls turning out, you can only offer so many teams.”

Excellent point.

“The other thing you have to consider is the money that’s available,” Hinkemeyer said. “Schools are fighting to retain extracurricular activities because everything is going up in price. Some have to pay to play in some school districts. We’d be remiss in not trying to do right by all the kids.”

Amen. And enough said.