SPHL Mississippi RiverKings

Jr. StreetKings Prepare For Championship Game

Published on August 14, 2003 under SPHL (SPHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


SOUTHAVEN, Miss.—The Jr. StreetKings youth hockey league is gearing up for tonight's championship game. Teams Two and Three, McNeely's and Kroger's teams, will play an elimination round at 6 p.m. at the Hernando Civic Center with the winner going head-to-head with number one team Pulaski Mortgage at 7 p.m. For more information, call the RiverKings office at 662-342-1755.

Memphis RiverKings Head Coach Jim Wiley will be present, and forward Jay Neal, who re-signed his contract with the ‘Kings today, will serve as head referee. RiverKings mascots Sheldon and RiverThing will also be along to entertain the crowd.

Kroger's Coach Paul Barber said he has high hopes for the evening although Pulaski's and McNeely's are both favored to capture the championship.

"After last night's practice, I think we have a shot at winning," Barber said. "The way they were fired up last night at practice, I think the kids are ready."

Barber's son Taylor Moore, 9, is recovering from a broken wrist. He's graduated from a cast to a wrist brace and has been pestering his parents to let him back in the rink.

"He wasn't going to play tonight, but he talked us into it," Barber said. "He really wants to do this."

Barber and Moore have been with the league since its inception last year. Moore has played three full seasons with the Jr. StreetKings.

"I like that the kids can get out there and play with their buddies," Barber said. "I think Donny Parsons has done an excellent job. I'm sure he has a full schedule and he fits this in for the kids. I hope Donny will keep doing the Jr. StreetKings. It's a great thing for the area."

Team Pulaski Mortgage cinched the number one spot this summer. Coach Wayne Perkins is confident, but doesn't underestimate the competition.

"I hope they play as well as they have the rest of the season," Perkins said. "If they do that, we should be able to win."

His son Justin, 11, has played three seasons with the Jr. StreetKings and one with the Jr. RiverKings ice hockey league.

"It's provided a different type of sport that hasn't been offered in the past," Perkins said. "It gives the kids a wider variety of sports to experience. Plus it teaches them about how to get along with other children."

League sponsors include Sports of All Sorts, Hernando Animal Clinic, Nichols Ford, Gossett Body Works, Maddox Foundation and Innovative Solutions computer company. Other sponsors include the RiverKings, O'Charley's, Chili's, O. Marvin Johnson, DeSoto Athletic Club, Olive Branch Curb and Gutter, James Riley, Marlows, Bob-Bo's, Boomers, CiCi's Pizza, McNeely's Style and Barbershop, and The DeSoto Times Today.

Don Parsons said the children not only learn how to play hockey, but receive more important underlying lessons.

"I've always said when kids play hockey they learn good sportsmanship and teamwork," Parsons said. "It's more than a lesson in athletics, it's good citizenship. They learn how to treat other people while still excelling, and they learn how they can do really well and still lose if they don't play as part of their team. It teaches them how to work together with other people."

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