Treven Harrington, Elliston guarding Audrey Stevenson, Ovando in the "B" game. Elliston won 34-25.
OVANDO - Three basketball games are scheduled in Ovando for the first time in ten years. The 2022-23 season of the Blackfoot Valley Basketball League welcomed the Ovando Colts with 12 players for the "B" and "C" squads.
For the last ten years Ovando and Helmville have had a co-op team that met in Helmville as neither community had enough kids for full teams. The basketball collaboration between Ovando and Helmville began in 2013 when Brady Stone was invited to play in Helmville when Ovando did not have enough kids for a team.
An increase in players from both communities motivated the recent shift to split off the Ovando players. Coaches in Helmville thought players were not getting enough playing time and instigated the split. Revitalizing the Ovando Colts shows that the league is growing and more kids are playing.
The basketball league is a community driven league, not affiliated with the schools.
"We're learning as we go and use some internet sources to learn practice drills," said Katie Applegate, one of the coaches. "It was a surprise to the Ovando and Helmville communities to have this split at the last minute, but we're finding our way."
Applegate and the other coaches Mel Lapka and Angela Williams have had some coaching experience and all played basketball as kids. Community support is strong with locals acting as referees. Concessions are provided by Leigh Ann Valiton of the Stray Bullet.
"The kids seem happy and have a good attitude at practices," said Applegate.
Practices are twice a week after school. Each community plays at least one away game and hosts one home game. The Ovando Colts will have played against Elliston, Helmville, Avon and Hall during the season, which ends in late January with the "A" squad tournament in Drummond. Swan is the other community in the league but Ovando does not play against them since Ovando has only a "B" and "C" squad at this time, and Swan has "A" and "B" squads.
"It is not known if the team split will affect Little League in the spring," said Applegate.
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