Basketball success with new, old blood

The 14-and-under Gateway Basketball Club is trying to qualify for a sixth straight year of national tournament play. The team's continuing success comes from blending experienced players with new recruits.

Although they're only 13, guards Chris Rosehill and John Simon represent the "old guard." They've been qualifying for nationals since they were in third grade.

Forwards Terrell Collins and Byron Ferrer are newer players. Collins is in his third year and Ferrer has been with the team only a few months.

Coach Henry Rosehill freely admits he recruits from all over the St. Louis metro area.

Team member Keith Burton is from O'Fallon, Ill., and Collins comes from the City of St. Louis. Ferrer is from Florissant in North St. Louis County while John Brandenburg, another new player, is from Des Peres in West County.

Veteran John Simon is a point guard for the team. He said, "This is the best atmosphere I've ever played in. Everyone shares the ball."

Ferrer also said he likes the team chemistry. "If I do something wrong on the court, my teammates don't get mad. They encourage me."

Collins said his participation in basketball has helped him make new friends. For the last three years, he's been transported from the city to Parkway Southwest Middle School.

Admitting he can be shy, Collins said, "When I play basketball, it's easier for me to make friends."

When recruiting, Coach Rosehill is looking for more than just skilled ball players.

Gateway has a detailed mission statement. Kids can't continue on the select team unless they maintain a 2.0 academic record. Most of them do much better.

Rosehill said, "We also look for personal character and kids with a 'faith.' Basketball comes after that."

Byron Ferrer attends a Baptist church where he is on the usher board and in the youth ministry. At school, he's on the student council and does summer community service.

John Simon attends a Catholic church, where he's in a youth group. At school, he takes part in service projects. His class supports an orphanage in the Asian country of Nepal.

And, then there's basketball. They work very hard to stay on the team.

They practice twice a week and play games nearly every weekend. For instance, by early December, the team already had competed in a tournament in Kansas. Their season extends into July. Last year, the team played in well over 100 games.

The Gateway team is an integrated one. The team has six black and four white players. They have both short, quick players and lots of tall ones. Some of the tall ones are fast.

John Brandenburg is their tallest player. And he got tall in a hurry.

Coach Rosehill said, "When John tried out a year ago, he was 5'11". This year, he's 6'6"."

But, he's not the only tall one. Jason Smith is 6'5" and Wesley Kemp is 6'4".

Some of the players earned a spot on the team through tryouts. But, others were recommended by other coaches.

Collins, who plays either power or small forward, is one who was recommended.

He said, "When I was 11, I didn't know how to play at all." But, after he got better, his early coach recommended him to Rosehill.

One of the reasons other coaches recommend their players is because of the Gateway's past success. Gateway sponsors teams in a variety of age groupings, from grade school through high school.

Since 1999, over 70 past Gateway players have earned college scholarships. Rosehill said that represents over $2 million in scholarship grants.

One of the Gateway "graduates" is Chris Sloan, now a starting forward for the Saint Louis University Billikens.

Several of the Gateway 14-and-under team want to play in college. Collins hopes to play in the NBA.

But, the team's immediate goal is to qualify for next July's AAU nationals in Orlando, Fla. If they do, the team's "old timers" will tell about their good experiences there in a previous national meet.