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Show DAILY HERALD B2 Sunday, April 6, 'La Sportsmanship is making a comeback in church basketball Bryon Saxton CANYON COUNTRY EXCHANGE " - OGDEN Badly bruised, but not beaten, sportsmanship is returning to LDS Church basketball and is playing an integral role in separating the winners from the losers. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y Saints West Weber -- Region sports directors have in- troduced a sportsmanship scoring system that is reducing the number of technical fouls, while restoring duality to a game that has been the brunt of more LDS culture jokes than green Jell-O- . The directors, serving LDS stakes in Clinton, Roy and West Point, are now trying to.take the sportsmanship program they adopted in 2007 church- wide. They introduced it in late March to other Northern Utah n LDS stakes at a church basketball tournament. The West Weber Region is one of two regions in the Top of Utah to adopt a sportsmanship scoring system. The other region was Davis West, serving LDS wards in west Davis multi-regio- regions. Running a quality basketball program is in Thomas's blood Since 1984 he has been involved in basketball as a high school referee and an employee of a San Diego city recreation program. With the scoring system, referees and scorekeepers award teams a sportsmanship score ranging anywhere from zero to five points. Points are awarded based on players demonstrating such acts as helping an opposing player up off the floopafrer a foul or not sweftfflgor yelling at a referee. The sports directors say they looked to late LDS Church President Ezra Taft Bpnson for their inspiratioa "Sportsmanship is the spirituality in athletics and we believe that the church athletic program is a spiritual program. If it wasn't, We wouldn't continue it, because our purpose is to build men and women of character and spirituality,'' Benson is quoted as saying on an LDS Web site. County. Scoreboard not all We are trying to expand the spoKsmanship scoring system to gion," said West Weber Region Sports Director Lynn Thomas. "We have the attention of some of the other brethren in other ith the system, it is pos sible for a winning team on the scoreboard to be the losing team in the scorebook, if the quality of their play does not I'm LOSEE Jewelers Only in CottonTree Square J2X H. IMvcntty Pkwy 3 , Prow (801) 373-10- 00 . Mon - S IOm - fc30 pa . Frttayi ESTABLISHED 14 until Spa meet with church standards, Thomas said. If both teams demonstrate the same level of sportsmanship, and no player receives a technical foul, the game is decided by the score. Participants seem to be get-- . ting the message. "We've come a long ways," Thomas said. He said there was one occasion last year when the new scoring system changed the outcome of a region playoff game between two "senior" teams, consisting of players between the ages of 18 and 35. LDS Church ball is broken down into four age groups: o play "teacher" ball; 16- - to play "priest" ball; 18- - to play "senior" ball; and those 35 years and older play "veteran" i n!! Ill" .'V i 12-t- Draw I OodtosklStandard-Examine- r Justin Menlove is frustrated with referees Bob Blair and Steve Hampton, right, Thursday night, March 27, 2008, at the Riverdale Stake Center in Riverdale, Utah. The Church of Jesus Christ ball Saints West Weber Region sports directors have introduced a sportsmanship of Latter-da- y scoring system that is reducing the number of technical fouls, while restoring quality to the game. Improvement Utah North Area Sports Director Leonard Mecham, who answers directly to the church's general authorities, said he can already seeigns of a turnaround with the sportsmanship scoring system. He oversees the sports programs from North Salt Lake to Malad, Idaho, and from Heber City to Rock Springs, Wyo. The senior team eliminated from the region tournament in 2007 as a result of the technical foul came back this year in the region tournament and won its respective age group, Mecham because nonmembers will come to play ball It is a environment." Mecham said with the results the sportsmanship scoring program has had on players' behaviors, he can envision the system one day being used churchwide. "It will come. It is just a process of educatioa" There are church sports directors who run a great program without the sportsmanship scoring system, Mecham said. said. "But the sportsmanship "You can see a turnaround program makes things easier." there that was happening West Point teen Alex Perez is one nonmember who said he because of the program," Me'' ' cham said. ; plays LDS Church basketball In his geographic region out of love for the game. there are 150 LDS Church Perez said for the past two stakes with about 35,000 church seasons he has played bas- basketball players, Mecham ketball for the West Point 3rd Ward teacher team. said, of which about 350 are "I think it is a great way nonmembers. Mecham said it is the duty of to play basketball," the LDS church leaders to provide a guard said. "It's program in which nonmembers pretty sweet. They should have can have a good experience. church basebalL" "We use it for a f ellowship- The sportsmanship program is not only making it easier tool" Mecham said. "If f)ing players cant display good for nonmembers to play, but sportsmanship, they won't have is also making it easier for ofa program. It is the fellowship- - ficials to call a game. ping we are concerned about. "We can touch more lives Hoop manners with the basketball program faster than we can with any West Weber Region Offiother program in the church, - cials Coordinator Jeff Boyson . . . J said it is exciting to see young men play basketball, and "watch them compete with manners." Having the sportsmanship program makes for better basketball, better fans and better officials, Boyson said. Boyson said LDS Church ball has been the brunt of jokes, and some members were afraid to come out and play, including nonmembers to whom the church needs to be extending a hand of fellowship. "We want to create an en- vironment of getting more people out to play church basketball," Boyson said. West Point 3rd Ward youth coach Kyle Cunningham said he has seen a "tremendous improvement" in the region's basketball program. "I think the movie 'Church Ball' gives us a bad rap," he said of the 2006 comedy starring Fred Willard and Gary Coleman. The coach said scoring teams on sportsmanship has eliminated a lot of the "physi-calnesthat was taking place in some of the games at the different age levels. "I think in the past it hasn't been so quality," said Cassie Thomas, wife of Lynn Thomas, who has seen her share of church basketball. "I have seen More teams now a change." Dave Dupaix, 52, of Roy, The sportsmanship program said church ball is a great acbrings out more participants tivity and the sportsmanship by sending a message to the former basketball "hot heads" program is improving it. who made the game unenjoy-abl- e "I've played it since I was a for many, he said. kid, and have been playing it ; With the change, Boyson ever since," Dupaix said, addsaid, the West Weber Region ing he also watches his son Chase play the game has seen a resurgence in the now. number of ward teams par"They say it starts with ticipating in its annual region tournament. a prayer and ends with a teams competed in fight," he joked "But it really Sixty-on- e the tournament this year, Boy- doesn't." son said, compared to 58 teams I Bryon Saxton writes for the last year. " We even had an of f icial that Standard-Examinwas a nonmember," he said. , , er . ( ' - -- ' |