“I took pride in being successful in the classroom as well as on the field,” Besler said. “I was just as competitive playing soccer as I was with my grades.  I think I set a good example for my peers with my work ethic, values and leadership.”

The process for selecting new members will be done yearly. This Hall of Fame gives something for current students to strive for in the future. Those who receive this honor set an example for leadership, dedication and success in athletics and academics.

Lapointe started coaching basketball nearly 30 years ago in Montreal, Canada after a mentor offered him an opportunity to coach. Without any previous experience, Lapointe was reluctant at first, but he soon found a passion for would become a lifetime love for coaching and basketball.

“After my first couple weeks, I realized I really enjoyed the interaction with players, the ability to create bonds and relationships and their development through the game of basketball, so it was a lot of fun,” Lapointe said.

Over the past 30 years, Lapointe has gained experience coaching high school, club and college basketball in both the U.S. and Canada, coaching in both English and French to his players.

“I’ve been coaching almost 30 years,” Lapointe said. “I took a few years off in between but it’s been pretty steady. I was also involved with the Olympic development program in Canada for three years so that was a great experience for me. I got to learn a lot, travel a little bit and also develop kind of what I would consider my philosophy of basketball.”

Lapointe plans on using his philosophy of basketball to build the ladies’ basketball program at BV West. Lapointe was chosen for the position because of his plans to foster a strong future for the program.

“I was part of the interview process,” Boys’ Head Basketball Coach Donnie Campbell said. “I think that out of all the candidates, he was the best by far. I think the biggest reason why he was the one to pick was because he wants to build program and he’s here for the long haul. He understands that it’s going to take some time. You can tell that he has the experience and knowledge that it is going to take to build a program here at West.”

Lapointe displays commitment daily during practice and players on the team notice.

“He’s really dedicated to making us better as a team,” senior Erika Lark said. “He treats us all the same and helps us improve. He’s a good coach.”

While Lapointe is enthusiastic about the game and the program, he enjoys seeing his players share his enthusiasm as well.

“[My favorite thing about coaching is] to see players develop confidence, work at developing their skills to develop confidence in being able to apply their skills in game situations,” Lapointe said. “Generally, when a player does [develop confidence] you can just see their eyes kind of pop up and radiate. It’s just a real good feeling for me to watch them grow and develop in their sport.”

Lapointe has many other interests outside of basketball.

“I enjoy playing golf and as a hobby I am a barbeque enthusiast and I have a barbeque team that competes in barbeque competitions,” Lapointe said.  “I’m in the right place and this is all stuff that I learned since being here so it’s been wonderful.”

A French-speaker, barbeque enthusiast and basketball fanatic, Lapointe adds extensively in character as well as in coaching to the BV West basketball program. Lapointe appreciates the support from students and the band during games.

“We certainly appreciate the student body coming out to our games,” Lapointe said. “I also appreciate Mr. Kirk and Mr. Longabaugh coming out from the band. Their input in our basketball games for both mine and Coach Campbell’s basketball program helps make for a real nice atmosphere in the gym. Just having the band there and a lot of the student body makes it a great place to be.”

http://www.kctv5.com/category/210172/hy-vee-high-school-team-of-the-week

The team will look to finish above the .500 record that has eluded their grasp for the past few years. Two years ago they finished with a 10-12 record, and last year they finished just one game away, at 10-11 overall. The team will be looking to build upon their large amount of experience in the pitching department, and that experience on the mound will definitely help them start the season with a solid foundation.

Unfortunately, apart from the pitching department only the center fielder and the short stop are returning starters from last year’s squad but the coaches think that their defense will remain above average because of their amount of talent.

The players will be looking to win the league this year, but coach Bill McDonald wants the players to have great teamwork, which will lead to those accolades.

“Our recreational soccer team name is the Rec Soccer Crew,” senior Madeline Distler said. “It came in part from the successful boys soccer season this year and what the fans called themselves.”

Recreational sports are extremely popular around BV West students, especially to those who want to play just for the fun of the game.

“I decided to play because I missed playing soccer after I quit, and I thought that it would be fun to play again,” Distler said. “Also, I didn’t know a lot of the players on the team very well so it was a good opportunity to meet new people.”

Deciding to join a recreational soccer or basketball league opens new opportunities for students.

“The difference between [rec] and BV West basketball is that there are no practices,” senior Jared Singer said. “Plus the games are really fun for the players because they can mess around and nobody gets mad.”

Since there are no practices, most players are less serious about the games and are solely playing for enjoyment.

“It’s fun playing for a team where you want to win, but in all honesty, it’s fine if you lose,” Distler said. “Players on our team came from a lot of different skill levels- some never even having played soccer before.”

Many people aren’t playing in order to improve their skill.

“When we won our first game, our coach bought each of the players a tanning package,” senior Kasey Liertz said. “It was our incentive and it worked.”

Obviously, those who have played on both school and recreational teams can see the clear difference.

“BV West has cuts, a two hour practice every day, a certified coach, and it’s all focused on winning and advancing in the post season play,” Liertz said. “[Rec] basketball is really for fun and anyone can play even if you’ve never played basketball before or don’t consider yourself athletic.”

Without the commitment and dedication required of school athletes, those who play for recreational leagues are sometimes new to sports.

“A lot of people are excited to play for a team that doesn’t have a competitive edge,” Distler said. “BVW soccer teams are very competitive and with [rec] teams it’s a great way to play and enjoy a sport that you haven’t played in a long time, or to try a new sport altogether.”

Recreational teams provide the perfect outlet for any student, both serious about sports and not.

“I would advise every student who doesn’t play a sport for the school to join a [rec] team because it can be as fun as you want it to and as serious as you want it to,” junior Austin O’Grady said.

Plus, there are other benefits beyond the enjoyment factor that motivate students to join a recreational team.

“It is doing something active,” Liertz said. “It draws a lot of people because of the team aspect; it’s a team sport and everyone gets to contribute and participate.”

Even though playing a recreational sport has many benefits, there are some downfalls. One is the money needed to join a team. It costs $995 people per team to register a recreational basketball team. (bluevalleyrec.org) Plus teams have to provide their own uniforms. This can add to this expensive cost. To form a recreational coed soccer team through All American Indoor Sports, it costs $670 for 8 games. (aaiskc.com)

“The worst thing about [rec] sports is the cost,” Distler said. “It definitely cots a lot to play, especially when you add in player card fees and such.”

Another negative aspect to joining a recreational sport is dealing with the diverse level of abilities.

“The lack of skill can be frustrating,” senior and recreational soccer coach Kim Martin said. “But it is more fun and less stress on the players.”

For those who are used to playing sports with a high level of competition, it can seem confusing.

“[Rec] basketball isn’t about the competition, but I easily forget that since I’m so competitive,” Liertz said. “When we’d lose I’d have to remind myself that it is really just [rec] basketball.”

However, with this lack of skill, winning games is easier.

“There isn’t as much satisfaction when you win compared to school or competitive sports,” O’Grady said. “Our [rec] basketball team is going 7-0 so far this season.”

These successful seasons create amazing memories.

“My favorite memory from indoor [rec] soccer is when Rachel Smith tried to kick the ball forward, but instead managed to kick the ball sideways and right into the face of a player on the opposing team who was sitting on the sidelines,” Distler said.

Sometimes joining a recreational team can create minor injuries too.

“My favorite memory was when Lucas Cohen broke his finger,” Singer said. “He popped it back into place and kept playing.”

Even with the risk of injuries, everyone who plays a season of recreational basketball or soccer advises others to do the same.

“You walk onto the team ready to have fun with your friends, meet new people, play some basketball and get a cool jersey,” Liertz said. “Then you end up walking away with friendships and memories you’ll remember forever.”

In order to reach the state level the debaters had to qualify at the regional level. There are four regional contests for Division 6A in Kansas, each consisting of eight schools. The top two teams from each regional then move on to the state competition.

BV West took one four-speaker and four two-speaker teams to state. The four-speaker team placed first, and one of the two speaker teams finished second. A win at the state tournament is based on the collective records of all the teams involved.

The debate rounds are judged by volunteers from the community, many of whom have a background in debate as either high school or college debaters. The judges decide on a winner based on which team they believe made the better arguments.

The state tournament culminates the debate teams season, which was composed of close to seventy individual tournaments that took place nearly every Friday and Saturday of the first semester. The team had a very successful season, with all most all of the more than 100 debaters from BV West placing in at least one competition.

Mark Kapfer, BV West’s debate coach since the school opened, coached the debate team to their win this season. Kapfer will be retiring after this school year, and the team’s state championship finishes Mr. Kapfer’s long and successful career at BV West.

“The battle through it well,” senior Taylor Buel said. “They are good at sucking it up and pushing through the pain.”

The Jags recently had two meets both at BV Southwest. On Saturday Jan. 14 Buel as well as seniors, Kyle McDonald and Trevor McGowan and juniors Nate Smith and Max Bennett led the team to a third place finish as a team. On Tuesday Jan. 17 the finished third behind Lawrence Free State BV Southwest and Blue Valley High. Senior Michael Glenn and McDonald helped pull the team finishing first and third in their respective events.

“We swam well.” Buel said. “There was a lot of good competition and the team stepped up and swam with good heart and determination.”

The boys finish their regular season Sat. Feb. 5^th at BV Northwest for EKL. For the individuals who qualified for state throughout the season the state meet is Sat. Feb. 17^th. It takes place in Topeka.

Photo taken by Elise St. Louis

“Coach has really been great.”  Senior Nneoma Wamkpah said.  “He stresses defense and fundamentals and allows everyone to play to their strengths. He is a very patient and understanding coach.”

The Jaguars will look to their seniors for leadership this season as they aim to go to the state tournament.  Many steps will have to be taken to reach this goal and the Jaguars will have to go through a very tough EKL schedule to get a good seed going in to sub-state.  This is key to decide how their postseason will play out.

“Senior leadership is very important this year and we’re lucky to have the four that we do.  Allison Knight, Jenna Shaw, Jackie Lybarger and myself.”  Said senior Nneoma Wamkpah. “Most of us on the team have been playing together for a long time so we work well together. Our leadership will help the younger team members stay poised and gain knowledge since we play a lot of tough teams.”

“In practice we need to compete hard against each other every day, and make each other uncomfortable in order to get better,” senior Connor Haden said.   “Because when one person gets better the whole team gets better.”

Basketball is a very demanding sport both physically and mentally.  It gets very tiring to continue to run up and down the court all game long and to play fundamental defense.  That’s why conditioning is very important to the success of a team.  If a player is down on himself because they aren’t shooting well, or missed free throws then a leader must emerge to pick the team up.  The Jags will have to play tough all year to compete with very skilled opponents such as Blue Valley Northwest, Blue Valley North, and Bishop Miege.

“Senior leadership is going to be huge this year,” senior Connor Haden said.  “We’ve got 6 seniors and all of us need to step up, and set an example for the younger kids.”

Key Players:  Seniors Jackie Lybarger, Nneoma Wamkpah, Jenna Shaw, Allison Knight

Goals: “Our team has a few goals this season,” Coach Matt Adams said. “First, we want to have a Defensive Field Goal Percentage of 32% or lower. We also want to finish in the top half of the EKL in the overall standings at the end of the year.” The team also should be looking to go above .500 this season and win more games than they lost, which would require them improving on last season’s record which fell one game short of that mark.

Stats from Last Year: 33% Defensive Field Goal Perentage, finished 3^rd in EKL standings

Boys Basketball

Key Games (all home games): Blue Valley Southwest on December 10, Blue Valley on December 14, and Bishop Miege on February 4

Goals: “Our team will have four goals for the upcoming season,” said Coach Donnie Campbell. “We want to be the best defensive team, the most fundamental team, the hardest-working team, and we want to be the kind of team that makes Blue Valley West and its community proud.” The team has not yet had tryouts, so they are still unsure who will make varsity this year, but they hope to find some good leadership this year.

Wrestling

Key Events:  Nebraska Duals, EKL, and the State Tournament

Key Wrestlers: Jacob Parise, Matt Paxton, and Kevin O’Grady

Goals: The team has been very successful in the past and they want all of their returning state wrestlers to make it back to the State Tournament and also add a few more that can compete at that high level.

Swim and Dive

Key Athletes: Michael Glenn, Sasha Stadnik, Kyle McDonald, Jacob Grove, Trevor McGowan, Jack Courtney, Taylor Buel

Key Meets: SME Invitational, BV Meet between all five Blue Valley schools, EKL, and State

Goals: The Jaguars are coming off of their most successful season ever last year, where they finished 3^rd in the State meet. They will also be looking to get more athletes named to the All-State and All-Metro teams.  They will be hoping that Michael Glenn, who was named to the All-State team last year and was the EKL Champion will continue his breathtaking performances.