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 This year the basketball tournament has grown to 146
participating teams, the highest number ever, and has made the job
of getting ready all the more complicated. The two point people on
the tournament, District 27 Superintendent Kent Froebe and LJHS
Principal Mike Workman are right now working almost 24/7 to set up
game brackets, get volunteers organized, and prepare the local
schools and the community for what is about to happen in Lincoln.
Due to the tournament's growth, two new locations have been added
this year. Zion Lutheran School and Chester-East Lincoln will also
offer their gymnasiums, bringing the total number of locations to
nine. Workman said that without those two schools coming on board,
to hold the tourney with 146 teams would not have been possible. He
also gave kudos to Froebe, who just last Friday was able to get the
two schools on board.
Workman said there is some debate on when and how the Trojan
Tournament got started, but he is confident it has been going on at
least for the last 15 years. It began simply as the Trojan
Tournament hosted by LJHS. In the early days, John Welsh, a
well-known and beloved teacher and coach in Logan County, was one of
the driving forces behind the tournament.
When Welsh died in 2013, tournament organizers felt that it would be
a fitting tribute to Welsh to re-name the tournament for him.
Therefore, beginning in 2014 the Trojan Tournament became the John
Welsh Memorial Tournament.
 During the first half of the history of the tournament, Welsh was
very much involved in its organization. Workman said that eight
years ago, Welsh was phasing himself out of the planning, and Froebe
and Workman began taking it on.
Froebe was the principal of LJHS and Workman the assistant. The two
have worked together throughout the years and have developed a great
balance. Workman noted that Froebe is the one who keeps looking to
make the tournament bigger and better. “This is our biggest year
ever. Before this our highest number was 116 teams. I thought that
was our pinnacle. But it obviously wasn’t. Kent keep saying we can
do more, we can bring in more, and we do.”
Mr. Froebe was recently moved from the LJHS principal position to
the Superintendent of District 27 Schools. Workman said at the time,
he wondered if Froebe would be able to stay involved with the
tournament, and worried that he wouldn’t. However, Froebe is still
all-in, and without him Workman said the tournament would not be
what it is.
Workman also said the tournament would not be what it is without the
massive number of volunteers who give their time to the weekend. He
said they pull volunteers out of the woodwork for this one weekend,
and everyone pitches in from parents, to staff to family members of
staff, it is a massive organization behind the scenes.
He said parents are very much involved in the weekend. For some of
them, he said it is a real sacrifice and challenge because they have
kids involved in several things in the local schools. He noted some
will go from one school activity to another throughout the weekend,
but they still find time to give to the tournament.
In addition to the volunteers immediately involved in the
tournament, the weekend also provides fundraising opportunities for
other organizations through concessions. He said that organizations
such as parent-teacher groups and booster clubs operate concessions
in various locations. They offer a service to the guests at the
tournament and also make some money for their organizations.
So what brings teams back year-after-year to Lincoln?
Workman said there are a lot of factors involved.
One important part of it is that the tournament is for all kids. “If
they want to play, they play,” he said. Comparing this to other
tournaments, he said the Lincoln tournament does not require that a
team have a certain skill level, they don’t have to be all-star
teams, though some of them will be. They don’t have to be AU or
Amateur Athlete Union teams; they just have to want to play
basketball. In addition, the tournament is not limited to school
teams. Teams can be put together from a collection of schools or
other youth organizations.
 The tournament is also one of the least costly for participating
teams. He said that for some, that is a big draw in that it doesn’t
take a lot of dollars to enter a team, yet it is a top quality
experience once they get here.
Location, Workman feels is also a big draw. Located in the center of
the state, Lincoln is a great location for teams that travel from
all over. He noted this year there are entries coming from Chicago,
St. Louis, Carlyle and Clinton County, Starved Rock, and all points
in-between in Illinois. There will also be participants coming from
Terre Haute Indiana.
And, of course, the community is a draw as well. Workman noted that
in the past, the people and businesses of Lincoln have been great
ambassadors for the city. He said with all the visitors coming to
town, it offers an opportunity for guests to see the community and
appreciate what Lincoln has to offer.
Workman said that once again this year, he would ask the community
to be good ambassadors. He said he would ask the people of Lincoln
to be patient, flexible, and understanding. “We understand the draw
creates traffic and long lines. I would say to the community; 'this
is a great event for the kids and a great way to showcase our town
and our community, the great community that Lincoln is.' More and
more people travel here each year and get a chance to see what we
are like; it is a great small town.” As organizers,
he said that he and Froebe do all that they can to get the word out
to local businesses that they can expect an additional 5,000 or so
folks to be in town this weekend. The businesses in turn prepare for
the influx and have been able to serve the tournament goers very
well.
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 Workman said the local businesses have also
gotten behind the tournament, lending their sponsorship. He said
such sponsorship is important to the weekend, and in return, he
and Froebe as well as others involved make every effort to steer
visitors to those sponsoring businesses. They recommend
restaurants for example based on sponsorship.
The organizers also bend over backward to accommodate the
visiting teams. Workman explained that in the final days of
preparing for the tournament, issues come up. A team can’t play
at a certain time of day, or they must play at a certain time
because of their travel schedule. “It becomes a giant jigsaw
puzzle that we have to piece together,” Workman said. In the
tournament, the guarantee that each team will play three games
in two days. Couple that promise with the promise of equally
match competitors, and it becomes a huge challenge.
While it is a challenge, for Froebe and Workman, it is a very
worthwhile one. “We want them to come back, we love the
challenge of this, and we want it to grow,” he said.
Who benefits financially from the tournament?
Workman said the answer is simple….the students of Lincoln
Junior High School, and the organizations that tag team their
fundraisers with the tournament.
For the junior high specifically, Workman said he’s not sure
anyone, not even the students realize how important the event
is. He noted in Illinois, there is a crunch on funding for
school programs. He explained that the dollars gained from the
tournament are often the difference between him having to say
‘no’ or getting to say ‘yes’ to a program request.
Workman explained that the money raised is not limited to use by
the athletic department. Any school activity that needs funding
can ask. The request has to be approved by the principal, but he
is thankful that on many occasions, he can give teachers,
coaches, or sponsors what they need to enhance the student
experience and further student education.
Workman said one of the most important things he wanted to say
now is “Thank you!”
“I can’t give enough credit to the volunteers,” Workman said. We
feel such gratitude and appreciation for each one. I can’t name
them all, there are so many, but we want to say that without
them, this could not be done. We don’t broadcast this, so I
don’t think even our students understand the importance of this
fundraiser for our school. But, if you don’t have people, you
can’t bring in the money. They are all so important.”
About the tournament
The John Welsh Memorial Tournament will begin at 9 a.m. this
Saturday morning and run through 6 p.m. Sunday evening.
Teams will be placed in various school gymnasiums throughout the
city according to grade level. For those who are interested in a
particular age group, this will make it more convenient as they
will be able to stay in one location for most of the tournament.
The exceptions may be in the final championship games, and fans
should look to the various bracket sheets for the games they are
interested in seeing.
Where Participating schools where games
will be played are Carroll Catholic School, Central Grade School,
Chester-East Lincoln, Lincoln College Davidson-Sheffer Gymnasium,
Lincoln College Lincoln Center Gymnasium, Lincoln Community High
School, Lincoln Junior High School, Washington Monroe Grade School,
West Lincoln-Broadwell and Zion Lutheran School.
Each game will consist of four 10-minute quarters with the clock
running. New games will begin every hour on the hour. Each team is
guaranteed three games during the tournament.
Participating grade levels are third through eighth for the boys’
teams, and fourth through eighth for the girls. Workman said the
tournament is open to third grade girl’s teams but to date, they
have never had a third grade girl’s team register.
Who is playing when and where Bracket sheets
will be available at all locations and are also available on the
official tournament website
http://lincolnjhs27.homestead.com /pages/TournamentBrackets.html
Workman said the game referees are paid professionals, not
volunteers. In addition, the timekeepers will be paid individuals.
He thanked Coach Alexander of the Lincoln Community High School for
helping provide those timekeepers. Scorekeepers are to be provided
by the individual teams.
The local schools all provide their gymnasiums free of charge for
the tournament with the exception of this year Lincoln College.
Workman explained the tournament will pay for use of the Lincoln
Center, but the College is giving them use of the Davidson-Sheffer
gymnasium free of charge.
Workman also noted that for some of these teams, the excitement of
getting to play on a particular court is a big draw. He said for
those who have played throughout the years, to work their way to the
basketball court of the Lincoln Railsplitters or the Lincoln College
Lynx adds to the quality of the experience.
Without these schools helping, again, the tournament would not be
what it is today.
[Nila Smith]
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