A new Presidents’ Day tradition tipped off Monday as the inaugural Big Leaf Basketball Elementary Showcase was held at Cardinal High School.
This year’s event benefitted 15-year-old Tanner Noble, a freshman at LaBrae High School, in neighboring Trumbull County. Tanner was diagnosed with a rare form of thyroid cancer last November.
Twenty-five school districts from five counties — 90 players from grades three through six — took part in the inaugural showcase. Doors opened at 11:45 a.m. with age-group games starting at 12:45 p.m., 4:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. A 24-team 3- point shootout was held at 2:15 p.m. and last 90 minutes.
Admission was free, but all proceeds raised through donations and $6 plates of spaghetti available throughout the day went to the Noble family. Roughly 500 to 600 people attended the day-long event, which ended around 8:30 p.m.
The experience had a special purpose and meaning for organizer Matt Janssen, who founded Big Leaf Basketball in 2015 with a focus on elementary basketball programs in smaller Northeast Ohio communities where there are fewer opportunities for young basketball players.
“I had a brother who just passed away last year of Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS). He had it for a couple of years and during that time — he was involved in the Cleveland area but also from Burton — so many people stepped forward and did tons of stuff for my family,” Janssen said. “So, I had this idea. I have this network. People are handing me money left and right. Schools have opening their doors for me. People help me out, kids are volunteering to run score tables. I want to run at least one event every year that can give back to a family in need.”
The next morning, Janssen said he woke up and went on his Facebook page and read about how Tanner was diagnosed right before the holidays.
“LaBrae schools are just like all the other schools around here, a small, tight community, and they’ve done stuff with me at Big Leaf Basketball,” he said. “I didn’t think twice about it; this is my kid.”
Janssen said he was able to put on an “extraordinary event” with the support of local businesses and helpers.
“People want to help others, they want to give. When people are around events like this, it’s contagious,” he said. “People start to get more involved in these kind of things. I know that’s what happened to me. I saw with my family and other people, and I was like, ‘I want to do that, I want to give more.’”
Not only were those attending the showcase wanting to see their son play basketball, they also were looking to help out the Noble family, he added.
Said Janssen, “I don’t think this will be the last (fundraiser) this year because of the success of it, but on Presidents’ Day every year I’m going to do this same style of event at Cardinal High School.”
Cardinal Schools Athletic Director Andy Cardinal said the school district has been hosting Big Leaf Basketball games and tournaments as fundraisers for the athletic department since around Thanksgiving.
“So, when Matt approached me about a month ago and said he was looking to do this fundraiser for Tanner, donating all the concessions and everything toward Tanner’s family, I thought that was a noble cause and we decided to participate as well,” Cardinal said.
Cardinal said the school district’s involvement is reflective of the overall Middlefield area.
“We have a hard-working working-class community that identifies with people who are going through tough times and I think the people in our community are happy to help when they can and in whatever small way they can to ease the burden on someone else,” Cardinal said. “I think it is important for Tanner and his family to understand that he has support from . . . a lot of people in his fight, not just Cardinal and Middlefield.”
Through fundraisers like Relay for Life and other past fundraisers, Cardinal said the school district has a history of helping out people in need.
“Those are always well attended and well supported by our community, and I think that’s something our community can be very proud of,” he added.
Apart from the charitable aspect, Cardinal said hosting Big Leaf tournaments, something the district has done nearly ever weekend since Thanksgiving, offer the school’s young basketball players an opportunity to compete.
“It’s also nice to showcase our school. We have received a lot of compliments on our middle school gym and high school gym, and the facilties we have for basketball,” he said.
Teams from Rootstown, Fairport, Pymatuning Valley, Chagrin Falls and Aurora have all played in tournaments at Cardinal.
“Just people from all over Northeast Ohio coming into Middlefield. I think it’s been a positive for our community and local businesses,” said Cardinal.
As for Big Leaf Basketball, Janssen explained for several years he has run tournaments, but last year pulled all the schools together to form a league. He was hoping to attract 25 to 30 teams.
“I’ve now facilitated games for close to 40 schools and between 80 and 100 different teams in grade levels three, four five and six,” Janssen said, adding unlike other leagues he has made the experience affordable.