Gulf Breeze 14-under Jr. Pro Boys hoop season underway

Submitted Photo GBSA 12-under Jr. Pro team Front (from left): Eric Adams, William Keene, Jack Sargent, Jaylin Coulter, Colin Brown, Erik Kelsch. Back (from left): David Keen, Maury Goldstein, Ben Sellers, Lucas Skinner, Jake Baker, Drew Lynch and Jase Brown.

The season for the 2007 Gulf Breeze 14 and under Jr. Pro Boys Basketball team is underway. The City of Gulf Breeze sponsors the team.

This is the second consecutive year that the select 14 & under boys team has participated in competitive basketball leagues in the Pensacola area.

Last year's team faced the challenge of being a 'new' team competing against other established programs. It was a learning experience for the coaches and players alike. This year's team is looking to benefit from lessons learned.

The 2007 team is coached by returning Head Coach, Joel Swann, and Assistant Coach Scott Stonebraker.

Together, with last year's Assistant Coach David Fairleigh and Gulf Breeze High School Varsity Head Coach David McGreal, tryouts were held in October where 13 players were selected: Eric Adams, Jake Baker, Colin Brown, Jase Brown, Jaylin Coulter, Maury Goldstein, David Keen, William Keene, Erik Kelsch, Drew Lynch, Jack Sargent, Ben Sellers and Lucas Skinner.

Prior to tryouts, Coach Swann met with Gulf Breeze High School Head Coach David McGreal. Coach McGreal expressed his interest and commitment to the Jr. Pro team as it serves as a talent feeder system to the high school.

"Coach McGreal has been great," Coach Swann exclaimed. "Not only has he opened up his playbook and coaching philosophy, he participated in many of our preseason practices." Once the high school season started, McGreal focused on his team. but "he made himself available to answer questions and he continues to sincerely inquire about our team," Swann said.

When the Gulf Breeze High School team added a new offense midway through their season, McGreal notified Swann and again offered instruction so that the Jr. Pro team had the benefit of the new system.

"The new 'High-Low' offense takes advantage of the height advantage of the big men we have coming up through the program," McGreal said.

"We have big guys on our returning Varsity, JV, and Freshmen teams," McGreal continued. "I looked at them; and the fact that the Jr. Pro team also has good size and decided this offense is something they all need to learn."

The Jr. Pro team has learned the basics of the high school system and runs it as the foundation of their play. Additionally, they have plays from last year's Jr. Pro team. Their 50 page playbook is fully implemented; however, the team will now look to improve and perfect their execution through the regular season games and remaining practices.

"Our biggest challenge has been finding practice time for the team," Swann said.

This year, the Gulf Breeze Recreation Association's recreational leagues have 440 players competing on 45 teams. With all those teams, the Gulf Breeze Recreation Center is booked solid.

"We are very grateful to the First Baptist Church of Gulf Breeze, the Gulf Breeze Presbyterian Church, and the Community Life Center, for opening their courts to our team," Swann said. "I can't imagine where we'd be without them, but we need to work on improving practice court availability. We are playing against teams that have their own gyms and they practice 5-6 times per week. We average 2- 3 practices in a week because of the limited availability."

Despite the challenges, Coach Swann and Coach Stonebraker are optimistic about the season. "These kids are good and we CAN compete with any team in the area," Coach Stonebraker said. "We're going to work on getting them to believe it and proving it on the court."

Jan. 27

Pensacola Stingrays 41, Dolphins 25

Dolphin Scorers: Keen (15), Lynch (4), C. Brown (2), Coulter (2), Skinner (2)

Feb. 1 Dolphins 38, Belleview

Warriors 27

Dolphin Scorers: J. Brown (8), Keene (8), Baker (6), Keen (6), Coulter (3), Skinner (3), Lynch (2), Sargent (2)

Feb. 1

Dolphins 35, Catholic Crusaders 24

Dolphin Scorers: Coulter (13), Adams (4), Keene (4), Lynch (4), Kelsch (3), Baker (2), C.Brown (2), Keen (2), Goldstein (1)

Feb. 3

Gulf Coast Rockets 35, Dolphins 19

Dolphin Scorers: Lynch (7), Coulter (6), Adams (4), Keen (2)

Feb. 8

Dolphins 39, Catholic Crusaders 13

Dolphin Scorers: Keen (11), Lynch (8), Keene (8),Goldstein (4), Baker (3), Coulter (3), Sargent (2)

Feb. 10

Dolphins 28, Gulf Coast Rockets 26

Dolphin Scorers: Coulter (12), Keen (9), Keene (3), Lynch (2), Sargent (2)

Feb. 17

Pensacola Stingrays 56 Dolphins 30

Dolphin Scorers: Coulter (10), Keen (8), Lynch (4), Adams (3), C. Brown (3), Baker (2)