Newly Formed Chappaqua Wildcats Win Tournament In Connecticut

To paraphrase a famous purported line from Julius Caesar: They came, they saw, they conquered.

For a team that was only formed at the start of March, the Chappaqua Wildcats lived up to that mantra. The basketball team of third-grade boys came to Newtown, CT last weekend to play as one of five teams in the 3rd Grade March Madness Tournament, which was hosted by the Newtown Youth Academy (NYA).

The boys played and won three games on Saturday, and finished in the top four, according to Ken Good, manager of programs for the NYA. On Sunday, the Wildcats won the semifinals, before rallying to win the tournament in the final game against the Connecticut Mavericks, the host team from Newtown. The final score was 36-27, Good said. The Wildcats and Mavericks were tied at the half, 12-12, but the Wildcats won by outscoring their opponent in the second, 24-15. As a result, the Wildcats went undefeated, finishing 5-0.

"I think all the teams did really well," said James Bergin, a coach on the team whose son, Ryan plays on it. "Our boys played extremely tough. Some games they were outsized but they were never out-hustled, and they really did a fantastic job."

The boys have varying backgrounds, with some having played organized basketball, while others did not, according to Scott Rosenberg, a fellow coach whose son, Brett is on the team.

Bergin said that the kids who enjoyed playing basketball over the past winter – his son and Rosenberg's included – wanted to play more. As a result, parents involved started looking for tournaments to play in for third graders – which are limited - and they found the Newtown event.

The team's kids each come from the Chappaqua area, Bergin said, and attend each of the Chappaqua Central School District's three elementary schools. They also knew each other form having played in other sports, such as soccer, baseball and lacrosse.

Out of the five teams at the Newtown tournament, the Wildcats were the only one from New York State, according to Good. While they only formed about a month ago, all of the teams had recently formed. Good said that the oldest ones had been formed around November to December, while the newest had only been formed two weeks ago.

Good said that he hopes the team comes for the academy's summer league, which has a similar format as the March tournament. He said that it would be great to see them defend their title.