Walters Hamilton savors biggest win away from court
- December
- 28
8:44 pm Nation Live
Teammates buddied up as Santa’s helpers to buy toys and clothes for each of the kids. The booster club bought gift certificates so the family could have a Christmas dinner with all the trimmings and mom and dad received a special gift of a movie night out just for the two of them.
So last Friday after beating Moreno Valley, Calif., Canyon Springs in the semifinals, instead of disappearing into the film room for a crash course on their next opponent, the team gathered at senior Magen Hudson’s Chandler home to wrap presents and prepare for the coming Christmas Eve caravan south.
There were plenty of sandwiches, homemade chili and fresh-baked gingerbread cookies to go around. The girls were in a joyful mood as Magen’s mom, Susan, set up the speaker-phone to spend a few minutes with a reporter.
“This is like our second family so it’s nice to be together doing this and being so happy,” said senior Sam St. Vincent. “It’s bringing us closer together. It really feels good to give to somebody else.”
That was exactly what first-year head coach Jeff Kain was hoping for when he sat down with the booster club to come up with a community project. Patrick and Ramona Joseph, the parents of sophomore Callie Joseph, mentioned a family they knew that had taken in six kids.
“You never know how high school kids are going to react to something like this, but the girls have been incredible,” Kain said. “They’ve really been excited about this. Even talking about it at practice.
“I’m always hoping they can learn more than just basketball. This is a lesson they can hold on to for the rest of their lives.”
Magen and freshman Chelcee Pullam decided to buy presents for the 5-year-old girl.
“I have a sister who is 5,” Hudson said. “It’s really nice to see a smile on her face so I figured it would be nice to see a smile on another little girl’s face, too.
“I showed the presents to my sister and she approved of everything.”
Ariel Marlor, another senior, was looking forward to seeing the kids open the gifts and getting to spend time with them.
“I’m so excited,” she said. “When they open their gifts, I almost want to yell at them, ‘Oh my gosh, I got you that.’ ”
Susan e-mailed me some photos from that Christmas Eve and it was hard to tell who was smiling more - the kids who received the presents or the girls who gave them.
Walters has had ties to Valley sports since 1978. He can be reached at jbwriter@hotmail.com.
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