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2004 - The formation of the 1st Barons’ youth teamHow it started“A long journey begins with a step” is an old Chinese proverb that reminds us of the journey that started for the Barons in 2004. At a tournament in San Francisco in 1998, Bob Curry presented the idea of forming a new youth club tournament basketball team under the umbrella of the adult Barons organization. A mission and vision statement was presented.Players on the team were picked not only for their talent, but also for the ability of the parents to get along with others. The team was one of the few in their age group that stayed intact from the beginning. “We will apply to all the tournaments, and expect to get into a few. We should be competitive” Bob said at the closing of the meeting. Everyone plays a partThe first of many bi-annual parents meeting was held in May 1999. Bob chaired the meeting. Keith Kato was the Treasurer. Rodney and Bob were the liaisons with organizations to solicit tournament bids. Harriet Taniguchi was the Community Service Coordinator and Sue Wong took over a few years later. Lani Hironaka coordinated fund raising. Gene Taniguchi handled communications and conflicts. Julie Kunisaki arranged for a practice gym. Rich Hironaka ordered the new uniforms. Dr. Tim Wing videotaped and archived most of the games on tape or cd’s. Bob kept the team stats. And, Brian Bedford coached the new team.An enviable recordCoach Brian took the players and made them into champions. The team started slowly and each year improved. The team played with a lot of heart and a strong will to win. The Barons 2004 had an unbelievable tournament record of 116 wins and 25 losses. They went to the championship game 36 times and won 26!How good this team is compared to other great Barons teams only time will tell. Baron youth tournamentIt was pointed out the new team would need to start its own tournament to get into established tournaments, so a small six team Tournament at Incline Village started in the fall. The Ninjas and the Zebras played in the first tournament. Ford Kinoshita introduced his famous barbeque tri-tip beef to the basketball public at the concession. Ford became Tournament Director in later years. Rodney said the profits from the first concession would go toward funds to send the team for a future Hawaii Trip. Dr. Tim Wing won the raffle and donated the money back to the club.The small Incline Tournament out grew its roots had to be moved to south Tahoe, then to Reno, and continued to grow. Summer camps, fundraisers, and HawaiiThe first summer camp for the team was held at Incline Village. The camp created a bond and brotherhood that has lasted a life time. More recent camps have been held in the Sacramento area.The fund raisers of comedy club, car washes, concessions and ARCO, and community service project of Special Olympics, Ronald McDonald House, Cancer Walks, etc. are now part of the history of the Barons 2004. The long journey for the 2004 Baron boys has come to an end, but they created large and successful foot prints so others could follow. |
