This was a fun game played by two teams of boys in the same grade at the same school that are obvious classmates.  It was evident in the way they treated one another.  Great example of sportsmanship throughout the game.  First Class Coaches as well.  It looked to this writer like these boys play basketball against each other often and on any day the game could go one direction or the other.  Today the score tipped in the direction of the white team.

Great players in the fourth grade class at St. Anthony!

St. Ignatius and St. Matthew played a very good fourth grade girls finals game for third place today.  The game featured two groups of girls with a lot of passion for the game and indicators of some very good talent in the future.

Highlights: St. Ignatius had the height and St. Matthew had the hot hands today.  These teams met last year for the CYO championship.  We will continue to expect some great things from these girls.

St. Pius X School, Cedar Mill, Oregon

CYO Third Grade boys from Cathedral and Holy Trinity played for third and fifth place in the annual CYO City Basketball Championships.  By a 1 point lead, Cathedral won the contest over Holy Trinity.  Both teams are sure to provide exciting basketball action in future CYO competitions.

Highlights: Holy Trinity led at halftime with a score of 16 to 12.  Cathedral came out of the halftime break on fire and led by a margin of 6 points until the close of the game when Holy Trinity’s Point Guard, Lang, provided some opportunities for the team. The game could have gone either direction several times but today it went Cathedral’s direction.

Both teams showed excellent progress from the beginning of the season through the championship tournament.

This was an exciting game between St. Cecilia and Portland Christian a lot of back and forth action between the teams.  The girls have learned a lot of skills this season.  Game highlight: One-sided score at first half favored St. Cecilia.  Fourth Quarter comeback by Portland Christian gained them the third place championship with a score of 23 – 12.  Looking forward to exciting games from these girls next year!

CYO/Camp Howard started a new fundraising dinner last September called the CYO Champions of Faith Benefit Dinner for CYO/Camp Howard.  Joey Harrington was our first guest speaker and 700 people paid to attend the event at the Oregon Convention Center.  It was a thrilling evening and CYO/Camp Howard netted $100,000.00.  The money was used for scholarships for CYO and Camp Howard, Endowment and camp facility improvement.   As a matter of fact, this is the money we are using to heat the pool!

We have scheduled our next Champions of Faith Dinner to be held October 2, 2012 at the Oregon Convention Center in the Oregon Ballroom.  Karen Gaffney, former CYO swimmer will be our guest speaker this year.  Karen is a motivational speaker who has a fantastic story to tell which is guaranteed to move the entire room.  We look forward to sharing Karen with our guests.

Readers, what do you think?  I want to hear from you as you click-through the blog!  Thank you!

Below: Joey Harrington delivers his motivational talk to the audience September 27, 2011.

One thing I have learned in my 15 years with CYO/Camp Howard is that the Camp Counselor makes the difference in a child’s experience at camp.  At Camp Howard the children break up into groups and spend the week with their cabin group building relationship as they move about the camp attending programs, eating at the dining hall, participating in campfires and the many things they do during the week.  It is the camp counselor who makes the difference in the week for the kids.

If you know someone who is looking for a summer job, works well with kids and is a first class individual, then suggest they consider working at Camp Howard this summer.  Camp counseling is an experience that young people look back on with pride and a sense of accomplishment.  It is one of those jobs that make you feel good for having made a difference in someone’s life.  We should all have the experience of being a camp counselor.

There are several positions open at the camp including counselors, Camp Nurse and lifeguards to be filled.  Now is the time to secure your summer job at Camp Howard!