BY FRANK SOJAK
The Tribune-Democrat
December 28, 2008 10:59 pm
—
A 60-year tradition of molding youngsters from the Conemaugh Valley area into basketball stars will continue.
Coaches and officers for the Duke Andrews Boys’ Basketball League, based at the Franklin Borough Municipal Building, undertook an effort to replace the deteriorated and unsafe floor in the building’s gymnasium with a new one so that the league could continue.
The league was faced with a last-minute decision to either replace the floor, an expensive proposition, or disband the league, said Rick Korber, a coach and league vice president.
League officers and coaches, all of whom grew up playing in the league, love the league too much to see it vanish so the league undertook the responsibility of replacing the floor, Korber said. There wasn’t time to raise money for the project beforehand, but the league is doing so now with the community coming through, he said.
He said all the league officers and coaches started tearing out the old floor themselves at the end of October to save money, with a contractor finishing the installation of the new floor by the start of the season two weeks later.
“The floor looks great and the players love it,” said Korber, an Elton resident who is fond of his native Conemaugh Valley area.
Korber, who has been a coach for nearly 30 years, said he enjoys working with the players.
“We (coaches) remember how much fun we had when we played and how much our coaches did for us,” he said. “It’s giving back.”
Bill Hohan, a coach for 31 years, said all the coaches and league officers do a great job.
“It’s too much fun,” said the East Conemaugh resident about why he won’t leave the league.
The league secretary said basketball is a great game and that it teaches values such as discipline, teamwork and responsibility.
Those are values the players will need during their lives, he said.
Troy Morder, league president and a coach for 25 years, said that all the coaches love teaching the youngsters not only the game of basketball but reinforcing the values being taught in the home.
“You do it for the love of the game and for the love of the youngsters,” said Morder, an East Conemaugh resident.
The league has been successful because of the dedication of the coaches, the majority of whom never had children who played in the league, he said.
He said the community and sponsors are great with their support of the league every year.
He said with the new floor project, they are reaching out to the community and former players to help with the $24,000 bill.
For their efforts, the three are the Persons of the Week.
There are 80 boys between the ages of 8 and 13 on eight teams in the league. The season ends in mid-February.
Basketball players Jordan Heider, 9, and Hunter Bizjak, 10, both said the coaches are excellent and that all the players have a good time playing in the league.
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