MYAS Changes Frequency of MYAS Update e-Newsletter Distribution

In lieu of distributing full issues of the MYAS Update e-newsletter each month, we will instead be producing individual sport e-newsletters throughout the year. The MYAS Update is currently scheduled to be released four times a year - in late August, November, February and May.

Gopher State All-Star Weekends

The second annual girls' Gopher State All-Star Weekend will be held July 22-23 at the Colin Powell Center in Minneapolis, while the boys' All-Star Weekend takes place on July 29-30 at East Ridge High School.

Players were nominated throughout the spring season and were ultimately chosen to participate via a "fantasy football" type draft conducted by our All-Star coaches.

We are very excited to announce that over 150 players will be participating in this year's girls' event. There are four teams at each of the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th/11th grade levels. On the boys' side, 40 players in each of the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th/11th grades were selected to participate.

The event will begin on Friday night each weekend with player introductions and a skills competition featuring a three-point contest, an NBA style skills challenge and a dunk contest, where winners will be determined by crowd response and approval.

We are expecting big crowds, college coaches and plenty of excitement. Make sure to stop by and check out some of the best basketball players in Minnesota!

Food Drive for North Minneapolis Tornado Victims

The MYAS has partnered with the Shiloh Temple Church to conduct a food drive for the victims of the North Minneapolis tornado. The devastating storm ripped through the community earlier this summer and left many people homeless and many more without power or other basic necessities. Numerous families are still homeless or displaced. The food drive will be conducted during both Gopher State Basketball All-Star Weekends:

5:00-9:00pm on Friday 7/22 & 10:00am-4:00pm on Saturday 7/23 at the Colin Powell Center (Mpls.)

* OR *

5:00-9:00pm on Friday 7/29 & 10:00am-4:00pm on Saturday 7/30 at East Ridge High School

Participants and spectators at both events are asked to bring a non-perishable food item or canned good to the event. The donations will be secured by representatives of the Shiloh Temple Church and will be donated directly to North Minneapolis tornado victims.

Even if you're not directly involved with the All-Star event, we encourage you to stop by with a donation. Please contact Kevin Wilson at 763-746-1712 or kevin@myas.org for more information. The MYAS thanks you in advance for your support!

Sports Medicine Tip

Low Back Pain in Athletes

By Laura Henn, ATC, PTA, CSCS

The low back is an area that is subjected to many types of stresses and forces during athletic competition. Strains or pulled muscles are likely the most common type of low back injury. Muscle strains can be caused by violent muscle contractions against resistance, overuse or faulty mechanics such as rebounding, throwing, batting or golfing to name a few.

Overuse of low back muscles is developed during everyday activities or with repeated bad habits of a sport-specific activity. It's quick and easy to bend forward to pick something up, but when it's done repeatedly or with heavier objects, the low back muscles get sore from working too hard. This pattern of poor use or overuse can also occur as a young athlete is learning to throw, bat or spike a ball. Bad form typically leads to more reliance on low back muscles and subsequently less recruitment of abdominals to stabilize the movement.

If we can all learn to use core muscles more effectively we'd not only wipe out the majority of low back pain, but also become better athletes and laborers!

Physical therapists and athletic trainers are experts in evaluating musculoskeletal injuries and prescribing exercise programs. As always with a new injury, apply ice for 15-20 minutes a few times a day to control pain and inflammation. Here, we'll outline a few core stabilization exercises to take the emphasis away from lumbar muscles and place it on the abdominals and glutes (butt), whose main job is to stabilize the low back and pelvis.

Abdominal bracing/contraction
Lie on your back, breathe in through the nose as the stomach/diaphragm rises, then exhale as if blowing through a straw. When all air is exhaled, tighten abs (stomach muscles) and hold contraction for three seconds. Then relax and repeat. Practice this for at least 60 seconds.

Abdominal marching
Keep abs pulled in and contracted while slowly raising one knee toward the chest, then lower to start position and switch knees. Don't allow the low back to arch. Continue this for 60 seconds.

Once you can master the ability to tighten your abdominals, practice it with all activities: getting out of bed, reaching overhead, carrying your gear and throwing a ball.

Bridging
Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Keeping your back flat, squeeze glutes tightly together, tilt up/raise your hips and hold for five seconds, then lower slowly. This should be felt working mainly in the glutes, not in the low back. Do 20 reps.

Alternate arm/leg raise
Get on hands and knees as if to crawl. While abdominals are held in tight, raise one leg straight back while squeezing that glute and raise the opposite arm straight forward like a pointer dog. Hold the position for three seconds and lower slowly. Alternate reps with the other arm and leg. Don't let the low back sag and be sure to keep the hips level. Do 20 reps on each side.

Low back strains will resolve with proper rehabilitation exercises and modification/correction of the aggravating source. Treating these injuries early will assist the athlete in returning to competition sooner.

To learn more about low back injuries or find out how to treat an ailing back or performance issue, see a Fairview sports medicine expert with Fairview Sports and Orthopedic Care or the Institute for Athletic Medicine. Physical therapy appointments are available without a referral from a physician. Call 612-672-7100 for appointments or visit us online at www.fairview.org/ortho.

Gopher State Spring Basketball

Another successful Gopher State Spring Basketball season has come to an end. It was a fantastic year - one of the best in our program history with record numbers of team entries.

We'd like to thank everyone who participated and express special congratulations to all of our spring champions who conquered the 2011 "Quest for the Rings!"

The champion and runner up teams from the boys' 3rd-6th grade and all of the girls' Spring Championships were published in the May 27 issue of the MYAS Update - click here to view those results.

Listed below are our champions and runners up from the boys' 7th-12th grade Spring Championships that were held on June 4-5.

Boys' 7th Grade Division I
Champion: MN Magic Elite ** Runner Up: MN Heat Fossum

Boys' 7th Grade Division II
Champion: Rochester Storm ** Runner Up: Mpls. Southside

Boys' 7th Grade Division III
Champion: Mpls. Select ** Runner Up: MN Bandits Purple

Boys' 8th Grade Division I
Champion: MN Cyclones ** Runner Up: Net Gain Sports

Boys' 8th Grade Division II Blue
Champion: High Triple Threat ** Runner Up: MN Blaze

Boys' 8th Grade Division II Red
Champion: Thunder ** Runner Up: Comets

Boys' 8th Grade Division III
Champion: PAL Raiders ** Runner Up: EOTO Black

Boys' 9th Grade Division I
Champion: MN Heat Select ** Runner Up: MN Heat Weimar

Boys' 9th Grade Division II
Champion: Rochester Ballers ** Runner Up: 43 Hoops Orange

Boys' 9th Grade Division III
Champion: AC Bulldogs 9 ** Runner Up: Heat 9 - Bliss

Boys' 10th Grade Division I
Champion: MN Fury Blue ** Runner Up: MN Fury Gold

Boys' 10th Grade Division II
Champion: MN Ballers ** Runner Up: River City Cougars

Boys' 11th/12th Grade Division I
Champion: MN Fury Blue ** Runner Up: MN Southside

Boys' 11th/12th Grade Division II
Champion: Thunder ** Runner Up: STMA Knights

Boys' 11th Grade Division III
Champion: Sauk Centre ** Runner Up: MCD Capitol City

We will be sending out the 2012 Spring Host Bid Sheets later this month. If your organization or booster club is interested and would like to be considered as a host for a 2012 Gopher State spring basketball tournament, please contact Rich Penick at 763-746-1724 or rich@myas.org.

MYAS Basketball Invitational Tournament Books

The 2011-12 MYAS girls' and boys' basketball invitational tournament books are currently in production and will be available the second week of August.

Included in the books are flyers for more than 200 girls' and boys' invitational tournaments throughout the metro area and greater Minnesota. The books also feature the latest information on MYAS fall and winter basketball programs, as well as important information and special offers from some of our generous sponsors.

If you would like to pre-order one or more copies of the 2011-12 tournament books, please click here to download and print the order form.

MYAS Basketball Tournament Scheduling Services

The MYAS wants to help your basketball organization with our Tournament Scheduling Service package, which is certain to make coordinating your event much easier. Our educated and trained staff has experienced the ins and outs of event planning. Let our expertise help you!

For just $3.00 per team, the MYAS will:

• complete your tournament schedules
• post your tournament schedules online
• provide you with a copy of the schedules
• provide you with brackets to post at your site(s)
• provide you with score sheets for every game
• provide you with many other valuable services

We are also working on the possibility of providing tournament directors with remote website access so they can update scores/schedules during their tournament.

To date, 23 tournaments have utilized the MYAS Scheduling Services. We are confident that all of them will be repeat customers, and we have already received commitments from four additional tournaments for the upcoming season.

For more information about our scheduling services and to read testimonials from past customers, please click here. You may also contact Jeremy Innes at 763-746-1720 or jeremy@myas.org with your questions.

MYAS Fall Basketball Events

MYAS Gopher State Fall Basketball League
This league was developed as and is intended to be a "tune-up" for winter travel/school basketball. Information for the upcoming Fall League is posted on our website and can be accessed here.

We've made some changes to the league to allow teams much more flexibility. While it will still consist of five Sunday play dates with two games per team per play date, teams can now elect to play on three, four or all five Sundays! This should help avoid conflicts between league games and your traveling tryouts or other activities.

Make your plans to join us on September 18 & 25 and October 2, 9 & 16. This year's entry deadline is Tuesday, September 6. Come see why the Gopher State Fall Basketball League is the largest fall league in Minnesota!

Gopher State Fall Classic
This is a new tournament on the weekend of October 22-23. The Fall Classic will be open to all teams, regardless of whether or not they played in the Gopher State Fall Basketball League.

Second Session for High School Teams
In an effort to bridge the gap between the end of the Gopher State Fall Basketball League and the start of the high school season, we created the Second Session. Teams can now keep playing until their tryouts. Players can work on skills and conditioning and coaches can observe players in game situations. The Second Session is not a league - your team can play on any or all four of the available dates in October and November.

For more information on any of these fall events, please click here. You may also contact Jeremy Innes at 763-746-1720 or jeremy@myas.org.

MYAS "Travel Lite" Basketball Programs - Save Time & Money

We often hear from coaches and parents who comment on how basketball tournaments consume an entire weekend. In an effort to give back some of that time to families, we branded some of our events as MYAS "Travel Lite."

Benefits of Travel Lite include saving time and saving money on admission fees, concessions, travel and lodging. MYAS Travel Lite programs include the Winter Jamboree, Super Saver Tournaments and the Gopher State Winter Basketball League.

For more information on MYAS Travel Lite, please contact Jeremy Innes at 763-746-1720 or jeremy@myas.org.

MYAS Winter Basketball Jamboree

The MYAS Winter Basketball Jamboree was created to provide newly formed traveling basketball teams with an opportunity to play multiple scrimmage games in one day. The inaugural Jamboree featured a whopping 96 boys' and girls' teams, and the 2011 event is sure to feature another great day of youth basketball!

Boys' and girls' teams in grades 4-8 are eligible to participate in this year's Jamboree on Saturday, October 29 at the Bloomington Jefferson HS/Activity Center - where there are seven full-size wood courts under one roof! The entry fee is just $140 and all teams will play three scrimmage games.

Please click here to download the Winter Jamboree entry form. If you'd like more information, contact Jeremy Innes at 763-746-1720 or jeremy@myas.org.

MYAS Winter Basketball Tournaments and Leagues

The 2011-12 MYAS winter basketball calendar is being continuously updated and is nearly complete. We will once again offer the Gopher State Winter Basketball League, Gopher State Invitational Tournaments and MYAS Super Saver Tournaments. There is sure to be an event that fits every team's schedule!

For more information on our winter basketball events, please click here and then scroll down to the "Winter" sections. You may also contact Jeremy Innes at 763-746-1720 or jeremy@myas.org.

MYAS Sponsors

The MYAS is very appreciative of the support we receive from our numerous sponsors, and we would like to encourage you to support them whenever possible. Their generosity benefits you, our participants, as it helps us keep our entry and participation fees as low as possible. Please click here to view our current sponsors.