We are gearing up for another season of CAJB, also known as Columbus Academy Junior Basketball (registration form), and we are excited to help facilitate this program. We thought it might be helpful to provide some background information for families to understand the history of this program. The junior basketball program was initially started and run completely by John Cullen, now a parent of two Academy graduates. John wanted to have a safe place for young children to interact with their classmates while learning basketball fundamentals. John had help from many of the parents in our Lower School at the time. They were able to run this program entirely through the volunteer parents.
As the program has grown and evolved over the years, several other people have stepped in to help. My husband and I ran it for several years after John Cullen. As my daughter grew into Middle School, Scott Gurwin took the helm for a few years as well. Scott stepped away from CAJB last year as his son outgrew the Sunday program. We are now in need of a new generation of parents who would like to help coach the current lower school students.
I am happy to organize teams, order uniforms and help create drills for each week. I have hired Taylor Kulow once again to be present to set up and tear down the gyms on Sundays. Now we really need you to help us complete the circle by volunteering to coach. Last year we were short on coaches. Taylor did a great job of seeking help from her family members to fill the gaps. This year we would love to have it be more of a community feel by having CA parents involved.
Ideally, we want teams of 6-8 students to create ample playing opportunities. We will need 16 or more coaches to help us achieve this goal. Right now we have eight volunteer coaches (first grade parent Erin Wiggins, second grade parents Jen Neviaser, Mathew Massey and Kevin Klingerman, third grade parents Jeff Braumiller and Bob Lee, and fourth grade parents Ashish Shah and Jen Neviaser), but we need additional help. Please consider donating your time for an hour and fifteen minutes on Sunday afternoons. There is never a dull moment, and it can be very rewarding.
