How Basehor-Linwood became a school of champions

By NICK SLOAN, NJSloan212@gmail.com

Brook Redmond's one-hitter to eliminate the Bonner Springs Braves softball team has put Basehor within reach of yet another title.

Basehor-Linwood defeated Bonner Springs 7-0 in the 4A regional championship game.

The win puts the softball program back to Salina and the senior class for the Lady Bobcats could win their second state title (they won it in 2010) - and the fourth for the school this year.

With a fourth state title, it would put Basehor-Linwood up with the best throughout the state of Kansas.

Earlier this year, the boys and girls power lifting state titles were won by the Bobcats, the first two the school earned.

In March, Basehor won one of the crown jewels in Kansas - the boys basketball state championship.

How has a small community risen up on the big stage so quickly?

Here's how:

1. A great wave of athletes. Every school district and school needs a little luck in obtaining talent. In recent years, in part thanks to a great population boom in Basehor, Kan., a handful of special athletes have helped Basehor climb to the top. Though we certainly know of the Murphy Twins in both basketball and football, they are far from the only athletes who have put Basehor on the map.

2. The power lifting program. One of the items I believe is sorely missed in most Kansas City, Kan., schools is weight-training programs and the idea of getting stronger. Many student-athletes in KCK have to go to their local gym or YMCA to work-out, get fit and get stronger. One of the rude awakenings some athletes run into out of KCK is the immediate weight-training programs their colleges request them to run. In Basehor, they have the best power-lifting or weight-training program in the state. Though it may not correlate to the other sports too much depending on the athletes who participate in multiple sports, the fact the power-training program is so successful probably means the equipment is top notch. It probably also means coaches from other sports urge their players to weight-train. The power-lifting program is more significant than it looks on paper.

(EDIT: Justin Gripka, one of my Twitter followers, told me that Basehor varsity athletes are required to lift weights three times a week. This detail reinforces the second point very well.)

3. Strong support of sports school-wide and top to bottom. Basehor athletic director Joe Keeler has made some terrific coaching hirings and it's clear he has a vision for what Basehor-Linwood became. An athletic department that is solid top to bottom probably means the athletic director is doing his or her job. There's not too many sports Basehor-Linwood struggles with. It seems like every sport has a great team every other year. Though their baseball team didn't make it to state this year, it did last year. Their girls basketball program was young this year, but they also made it to state recently. The boys basketball program is in the argument as being the best in 4A, though Sumner Academy and Topeka-Hayden could claim other wise. There may be some off years, but they're right back the very next season. Basehor has generated a lot of interest in the coaching community in Kansas City. Trust me on that. In the world of high school athletics in the metro, Basehor-Linwood has become a special place. It's no fluke that many of the programs inside Basehor win.

4. Strong support from the community. There are good things and bad things about a community that's obsessed with high school athletics. One of the good things - it can inspire athletes to win big for their city. I know "winning one for Basehor" was one of the points of inspiration for the great basketball team this year. Basehor fans bring it - their fans are very passionate, especially when their teams are good.

Basehor's success is no accident.

They're not just winning because they're not in the inner-city. They're not just winning because of one or two head coaches in the school. There are similar schools in the metro that match Basehor's demographics that have not had as much success top to bottom in athletics.

They're winning because they have a commitment to excellence, to borrow a phrase from Al Davis.

The last four years at Basehor-Linwood High School have been special. And next week, it may be time to make room for yet another trophy.

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All Underclassmen Team - Basketball

by David Brox, davidbrox@shukc.com

I will start sharing some of the highlight footage from the award ceremony.  Here is the All Underclassmen Team.

If you are interested in a full copy of the event please let me know.  They are 10 dollars and feature some pretty cool highlights of the basketball season.

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KCK Preps Football Workout

by David Brox, davidbrox@shukc.com

Based on the success of the first workout I will be helping with another. I would say host but like I mentioned before Austin Bennett is donating his time to these workouts and really runs the show. We will look to expand it a bit but not by a bunch as we want to continue to develop the process to make it more efficient and effective.

May 26th at 7:30 AM we will be gathering for the workout. We will focus on skill position players. We are interested in finding some defensive backs to participate and provide some coverage for the receivers and QB's to compete against. Footwork and agility drills are done by all the players participating.

We are here to have some fun and get in a good work out. If you have interest please send me an email.

I got a question about a workout for the ladies which specifically was for basketball. I will be looking into a location to hold such a workout.

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Vernon Birmingham Endorses Wesley

by Vernon Birmingham, @PastrV

For the 2012 race I Publically Support

Like many elections you typically see organizations and news outlets decide at some point to back a candidate for public office. I’m going a different route. I am publically backing a candidate for head coach of the Schlagle Football program. This is my personal backing and not those of all contributors of KCK Preps.

Today, Wednesday May 16, 2012, 82 days and 9 hours since Schlagle High School has last had a football coach, I back and support Martez Wesley’s candidate for head football coach of the Stallion program. I will be honest; I don’t know all the candidates since there has not been a posting of the position. I do know from word of mouth and have talked to candidates. At one time yours truly sent a resume and letter of interest to the Schlagle athletic director. My resume lines up similar to Wesley’s other than the fact I didn’t play college football due to choosing to play baseball. I will admit first and foremost, I am good friends with Martez. We attended middle school and high school together. We were teammates for six years. We spent time together at Kansas State University. After college we both worked and coached at Schlagle during the same time frames. I want to me openly honest, I don’t write this because we are friends. With the team that is coming back and my offensive system (Paul Brown Georgia Tech triple option, YouTube it), I personally feel I’m the best candidate but with myself withdrawing my name from consideration…Wesley is the best choice. As I mentioned, I don’t know the credentials of all of the other candidates but I will explain why I feel Wesley is the best man for the job.

Martez Wesley is a Schlagle alum of 1995. While many may not find this to matter, I find it important. Schlagle has had few “really successful” seasons in football since its inception. When we were freshman Schlagle went 1-9. As sophomores with many of us contributing we went 5-4, and then finished our careers going 8-2 and 7-3. I would have to do some in depth research but I believe we have to be close if not have the most wins in the Schlagle program over a 3 year period. This matters because Wesley has personal interest in seeing the program return to that magnitude. When you were part of something so great you hate to see it fall off. Steve Szczygiel resurrected the program; Coach Dorian did a great job of getting back to respectable; Coach Wesley can lead the program back to being feared.

Martez Wesley has spent previous seasons coaching at Schlagle.  Coaching at Schlagle will not be new to Wesley. As I mentioned previously, we coached together at Schlagle starting back in 2002. He knows how things operate from the routine to passing out equipment to where everything is located. After I left, he remained an assistant there until he accepted a position on the collegiate level…which goes to my next point.

Martez Wesley has played and coached on the collegiate level. While this is not a requirement I feel it is a major advantage. I personally feel overall based upon that experience practices can be scripted in a matter that takes full of advantage of the personnel and the time you have available to work. When I coached football on the collegiate level you realize how to take advantage of every minute you have on the field and from conversations I am certain Wesley would do the same. Also once you play or coach in college you tend to run your football time as a program and not just a team. There would be accountability measures in place to allow each young man to achieve both on and off the field. I also believe coaching and playing helps with the recruiting side. He has connections with many coaches to help the young men with future playing opportunities. (He coached at Avila University under former NFL safety Kevin Porter)

Martez Wesley is already in the building. It has become common practice for the head coach in some sports to work at other schools. Many sports have been successful with this way of doing things. The one sport I feel this shouldn’t happen is football. Of course in football you are dealing with many more players than you would in a basketball or softball for example. I feel with as many young men on a football team the coach needs to be accessible at all times not per se for the players but for the teachers to have access to immediately with any concerns. Wesley has been at Schlagle now for utmost of ten years.  The students, players, and administration already have a connection with him.

Martez Wesley has been a head coach. Many may not be aware but Wesley was the head coach of the Schlagle girls’ program years ago. He is currently the head wrestling coach and also the head boys track coach. He knows how to lead successful programs. As I mentioned before, Wesley and I go back but I still scratch my head on how a guy who never wrestled is the head wrestling coach…I say that to say if he can be the head wrestling coach then he surely has the credentials after being a high school standout, playing (not just on the team) wide receiver for very talented Kansas State football teams, and playing professional in the Arena League.

Martez Wesley has coached at different schools. Again, while not necessary I think it’s good to see how things are doing in other programs. Wesley started off coaching at Schlagle but then left to coach at Avila University. He has also coached recently at Blue Valley North high school, which plays in a very competitive league. I think this insight helps when face teams of better caliber. Anyone who would argue with me the EKL does not currently have better football programs doesn’t know local football.

These reasons above are some of the reasons I support Martez Wesley as the head football coach of Schlagle High School. Again, these are the opinions of me only and not those of KCK Preps.

Vernon Birmingham

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Ward eliminated in championship game

The Bishop Ward Cyclones were stopped one game short of the Kansas 4A baseball state tournament.

Jefferson West High School defeated Bishop Ward 6-4 in the regional championship game at Eisenhower Middle School Tuesday night.

Prior to the championship game, Bishop Ward hammered Piper to avenge two regular season losses, winning 11-3.

For Jefferson West, the regional title came after narrowly escaping Basehor-Linwood in the opening round. West defeated Basehor 14-13.

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We'll have season recaps and more baseball profiles to close out the month despite the season being over.

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Ideas for the second season of ESPN's 30-for-30 series

By NICK SLOAN, NJSloan212@gmail.com

As much as many sports fans complain about ESPN and how far it's fallen compared to it's Golden Age in the 1990s, there are still some occasional gems from the network.

One of those great ideas, the 30-for-30 documentary series, has been renewed for another season.

Most of the films were terrific the past few years, with "The U" documentary being my favorite.

Still, there are some good ideas out there that ESPN could turn into great presentations.

A few of my personal ideas.

- The rise of sabermetrics in baseball. Based on the ownership and general managers the Kansas City Royals have had since the 1980s, this documentary wouldn't interest them. However, sabermetrics and "nerd stats" have transformed the thinking about baseball. A special on Bill James would help the younger fans of baseball understand who he was and how much he was hated around baseball until the Boston Red Sox hired him. The ideas of Moneyball could also be explored and how much success sabermetrics can be credited for.

- The murder of Baylor basketball player Patrick Dennehy and the attempted cover-up by former Bears head coach Dave Bliss. This story was one of the darker sagas in college athletics history and with it being seven years, it's aged a bit and it would be interesting to see the story comeback into the mainstream. Also, some of the interviews could be fantastic.

- The parallel careers of Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf. One quarterback drafted in the 1998 NFL Draft became one of the top seven or eight quarterbacks ever, while the other quarterback became the greatest bust in NFL history.

- How the NCAA has evolved into a money-making machine over the past two decades. College sports have always generated money. However, we're talking about billion dollar TV contracts now. Perhaps the issue of whether players should be paid can be explored and the occasional hypocrisy of the NCAA can be explored.

- A documentary covering the Bad Boys Detroit Pistons teams from the late 1980s-early 1990s. Because of those teams being in between the Magic/Bird teams in the 1980s and the Michael Jordan Bulls teams in the 1990s, they're often forgotten. They shouldn't - they were a great mini-dynasty led by some of the most colorful characters ever: Isaiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman.

- For hockey fans, a documentary on the rivalry that was the Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche that spanned from 1996 - 2002. The two franchises won five combined Stanley Cups at the peak of their rivalry and the nastiness of it was incredible. Having lived in Colorado when the Avalanche began their run in Denver, the Detroit Red Wings almost rose up all the way to the Oakland Raiders in terms of being hated in the state. It was an excellent rivalry that deserves a ton of respect in history.

- The impact of the 1994 Major League Baseball strike on small-market franchises. The Montreal Expos that season was running away record-wise and were the heavy World Series favorites when the work stoppage was announced. The Kansas City Royals were competing. Yet, since then, the economics of baseball have been unfair for the small-market teams. Did the 1994 strike contribute to this? Maybe, maybe not. As we approach the 20th anniversary of the strike, it would be interesting to take a look back.

- Early deaths among professional wrestlers. OK, I know professional wrestling isn't exactly a sport. Still, ESPN's done a few stories on wrestling in the past few years and the Grantland Website Bill Simmons operates touches on wrestling as well. The amount of early deaths among professional wrestlers is frightening. It makes the NFL/concussion controversy look like a walk in the park. If the amount of former baseball, football or basketball players matched the number of wrestlers who died early in their lives, there would be a Congressional investigation.

- Exploring how the SEC took over college football. It's not often a conference wins six football titles in a row, but the SEC has. A documentary investigating how this happened would interest college football fans - and how it may eventually lead to a playoff.

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