March Madness in New Castle
March 7, 2008
by Ann Marie Fallon
Last weekend, Saint John and Saint Mary Roman Catholic Church of New Castle sponsored a “March Madness Tournament.” The basketball tournament was held at the Westorchard gymnasium and featured tournament play for three divisions: fourth grade girls, fifth grade girls and fifth grade boys.
Teams came from as far away as Croton and Mahopac and as close to home as the two rival New Castle boys’ teams—the New Castle Clash and a team from Temple Beth E—to compete against the home court favorite Saints.
St. John and St. Mary Saints won the fourth grade girls division of the tournament as well as the fifth grade boys division. The fifth grade girls division was won by St. Lawrence Parish.
Russ Hoffman, the tournament director for Saint John and Saint Mary’s, considered the tournament a success based on the universal comments from the participants: great fun, loved the t-shirts and loved the trophies. Hoffman, head basketball coach of the St. John St. Mary fifth grade basketball team explains his philosophy: “Our goal each year is to teach sportsmanship, compete, and to have each player strive to be the best athlete and person they can be. If I can impress these goals and values on each player, then I feel that I have performed my duties as coach.”
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