The Eagan (MN) Traveling Basketball Association has a funny way of rewarding the brave. One of its participants, young Conor Smith, was 11 when he was stricken with a brain tumor in 2007. During his treatment, doctors also diagnosed Conor with Leukemia. Obviously, basketball was out of the question as he received chemotherapy for the rest of the 2007 season, but he returned to play in 2008.
(Sorry, Conor, but you’re going to have to learn that life is full of unreasonable people sooner or later.)
Fast-forward to 2009, and while tryouts were going on, Smith was in the midst of a 3-week stint where he needed casts on his legs to ease stiffened calf muscles. From the chemotherapy. Because, you know, he was a child recovering from cancer. Well, regardless of the fact that he’ll be out of them soon, the lowest division of Eagan Traveling Basketball has decided to axe him from the ranks of players. Really.
From KARE-11 in Minneapolis:
“I had no idea this was coming at all. I was completely shocked,” said Tim Smith, Conor’s dad, still reeling from the news that his 13-year-old son has been cut from a “C” team, the lowest rung of the Eagan Traveling Basketball association
The casts will be off by next week, but that was too late for the board that oversees Eagan Traveling Basketball.
“Could there be an exception, I guess there could have been but we try to keep everything according to our policies as best we can,” said Beth Koenig, who co-directs the basketball association with her husband Gregg.
Okay. It’s often the case that people unfamiliar with administrative roles often place procedure above common sense. Sometimes, it’s to protect authority and objectivity in situations of great import, like with the NCAA and its arcane but steadfast rules.
And then, sometimes, it’s about the lowest division of some youth basketball league in the middle of Minnesota.
So what was the deal? Was it just a case of Smith being unpopular and not liked by a coach who was unwilling to grant him that exception Koenig mentioned? Well, no, not exactly:
Tim Smith says he was also told he was no longer needed as a coach, a volunteer position he had held within the youth basketball organization.
We’re just spitballin’ here, but we’re pretty sure the ETB’s going to find an exception pretty soon, lest they think there’s value in being the goats of one of the worst PR blunders in youth sports history.
10:49 pm on October 1st, 2009
That’s just sorry.
7:53 am on October 2nd, 2009
Send these people what you think about this and hopefully the kid will be allowed to play. etbdirector@eaganhoops.org
8:35 am on October 2nd, 2009
Unbelievable! I get so sick of youth sports acting as if they are professional teams, rather than the fun sport the kids families PAY FOR-not get paid. This is disgusting, really.
10:04 am on October 2nd, 2009
How much are you wanting to pamper the kid. Life is tough and he has been dealt a very crappy hand. Still, nothing is free. He has to tryout just like every other kid and the best kids play on the team. get over it. That’s the way it is.
Try putting a SPED on a debate team. …doesn’t work.
10:30 am on October 2nd, 2009
what is with the kid stories, first albino kid now this? there is no mention how the kid plays, maybe he is not good enough for the team, let him try next year.
10:36 am on October 2nd, 2009
Umm…He missed the tryout. How can they evaluate his current ability if he MISSED the tryout? Tryout next year, kid.
Too many whiners.
11:12 am on October 2nd, 2009
Perhaps the Lance Armstrong foundation, LiveStrong, would be interested in this story. Young cancer patient works his butt off for two years to make it back to his “C” level b-ball team, only to be told “we don’t need ya” Yea, that would be heart warming. Geez, what a bunch of morons. Its just sports, people. Get over it and let the kid play for criss sakes……………………………………………….
11:39 am on October 2nd, 2009
I agree with the previous comments. Let the kid try out and make the team. Why Yale University would not allow an idiot with a low IQ and 800s in his SATs into their Ivy League University, would it? Oh wait, bad example. Well we would not elect a President who’s an idiot who attended Yale and could barely read, would we? Oh wait, we did. I mean this is a country where you must work hard to achieve something, like that Paris Hilton person. She built a hotel empire with her own little hands. Nothing is given to you in this great country. Make the kid work for it, like George and Paris had to work for it…..Amen….
12:51 pm on October 2nd, 2009
i dont have a problem with him not on the team. no tryouts/no team. easy enough.
5:34 pm on October 2nd, 2009
I’m not for letting the kid have a totally free pass, even though since he made it last year most likely he could make it again. Though, I kind of feel like they should have let the kid try out a little later. But really this kid had casts on his legs for 3 weeks, does anyone think he could actually play?
8:14 pm on October 2nd, 2009
We’re talking “KIDS SPORTS” here people. This in not the NBA or college level! I’m so tired of this mentality in youth sports. All kids should have the opportunity to play! He’s 11! You do realize if sports were as competive 20-30 years ago- kids being cut and not having the opportunity to improve skills, many of the professional greats would have never made it.
The adults that are responsible for this should be ashamed!
My children play for EAA, we have volunteered to coach and we have been disappointed numerous times b/c of the “politics” of it all. Not necessarily directed at our kids- but we have had to watch it happen.
11:28 am on October 3rd, 2009
This is traveling youth sports - if you can’t tryout, you take what you know (which was last years evaluation) and you make a decision. Everyone who trys out (or can’t) understands this. He is not banished from playing basketball - he has in-house and middle school basketball, he will be able to play, and tryout again next year if he chooses to participate in traveling basketball. So much information is missing from this story - Boyd Huppert should be ashamed for not telling the whole story. This young man should be applauded for beating cancer - but he should not take someone’s spot on a traveling team that DID try out because he was ill. He can still play, and still participate in the joys of basketball - just not traveling.
9:47 am on January 31st, 2012
Conor passed away in August of 2011 after a long battel with leukemia. Conor was a true fighter and never let the cancer get the best of him . We could not be more proud of our son who inspired so many people at such a young age.
After the first KARE11 story there was a follow up to talk about his new team at the Mendota Heights Traveling Association. The league cooordinator saw the first storyy and called us to offer Conor a spot on their team. She is an amazing person who saw a chance to do something really special not only for Conor, but also the players and coaches in Mendota Heights. He had a fun year with his new team and met some great kids and parents.
The second part of the follow up centered around the President of EAA at the time. After the story he was quite miffed at what happened and reached out to us. That too was a great experience and we are confident that a resutl of what happened to Conor another kid will get a chance down the road that wouldn’t have. Once folks know the entire story, including information from conversations PRIOR to tryouts that led me to believe that Conor would get to play, they start to understand why we answered the call when KARE11 called us.
.This was never about just playing basketball, if so we would have been fine with school ball, this waas about TRAVELLING basketball and Conor being just like his friends who were all playing. He deserved that chance.
Kare11 also did a follow up when Conor passed away and they interviewed some of his former team mates from Mendota Heights. They talked about how Conor inspired them and how hard he worked even though he was battling this dreadful disease. That was awesome! We are so proud of Conor! Thanks!