Championship lessons likely to linger

Two high school basketball teams were crowned state champions Saturday night in Anchorage, and both were local squads. State titles are noteworthy events in themselves. A double win for Valley schools is nothing short of history making.

Congratulations to the Wasilla girls team and their coach, Jeannie Hebert-Truax. In a closing seconds nail-biter, the Warriors put the brakes on a relentless fourth-quarter comeback by opponent Juneau-Douglas to seal a 51-48 victory.

One of the most dominating teams in the state in recent years, the Warriors, nonetheless, have found the rarified air of a championship to be elusive. That all ended last night on the hardwood of Sullivan Arena.

The boys game, which featured a matchup of longtime Valley rivals Colony and Wasilla, finished too late for press time for this page, but a full report about the game can be found on C-1 of this edition.

Regardless of who wins, the championship will mark a first for a Valley large-school boys team. Although Wasilla, Colony and Palmer have all advanced to the title game in past years, none has ever been called &#8220state champion.”

The Wasilla girls' victory can be viewed as a tribute, of sorts, to the last WHS girls squad to win a championship - the 1982 team, which was honored at the weekend tournament on the 25th anniversary of its landmark victory.

One of the players on that team recently said the experience of that championship season changed the way she looked at not just competition, but at life as a whole.

&#8220Everything I needed to know, I learned on the basketball court,” she said. &#8220Learning to be gracious in defeat and victory, learning to set goals, and work ethic. It was life-changing for me.”

The player - Sarah Palin - went on to make more history when she became the first woman elected governor of Alaska.

Whether there is another future governor among this year's champions remains to be seen. But the lessons learned by this year's players likely are the same.

It takes discipline and sharp focus to maintain the physical and mental skills to practice hard every day, play hard every night, and never fail in being a good team player. Just as these are the attributes that make quality athletes, they are attributes that can easily translate off the court to building quality community members.

So congratulations to all the players for what they have accomplished. They are a tribute not only to their families, but to the coaches, teachers and community that nurtured them and taught them the value of working hard as a team for a common goal.

If the weekend's results are any indication, the best is yet to come for all of them.