Rec Sports

PSG’s dynasty has begun: A youth-powered destruction of Inter in the Champions League final is just the start

Here is a team ready to rule Europe. In brushing aside Inter, Paris Saint-Germain already knew they were the best in the business. In colours that have seemed tortured by a decade-plus of failure on the big stage, this brilliant group of players knew how this final would be ending from the outset. Even PSG’s […]

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1 month ago

May 31, 2025

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Even PSG’s kick off, punting the ball out midway down the right flank, was an act of swaggering authority. Take the ball, they told Inter. We’ll have it back as soon as we feel like it.

For Inter, what had long been obvious to PSG took 20 minutes to dawn. At two goals down they knew the game was up. By the 90th they had had the greatest defeat in the history of European Cup finals inflicted on them. It would be easy to paint Federico Dimarco as the fall guy, but he shouldn’t be wracked by questions about what might have happened if he hadn’t played Achraf Hakimi onside or had stood square against Desire Doue’s cannon. What would have happened is the same thing that happened anyway. Playing at this level, PSG were always going to win.

Their team was simply too multi-faceted in its excellence for anyone short of Barcelona to match them in 2025. This has never quite felt like a post-superstar age for PSG and the highest wage bill in sport. Kylian Mbappe might be gone but Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele and Achraf Hakimi are and always were world class talents. This will rightly be framed as a triumph for a team first mindset over star power but it should not go unremarked that Luis Enrique has hardly wanted for talent.

PSG’s recruitment has always been excellent, as it should be given the money Qatar is prepared to invest in this soft power exercise. All that has changed since losing Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi they haven’t been team building to plug gaps behind a diffident front three. They have afforded Luis Enrique all the raw ingredients he needs.

Not that this has been a managerial cakewalk. A year ago the suggestion that Ousmane Dembele would be some pressing tyro would have seen you laughed out of Paris. And yet, there he was with PSG two goals to the good early in the second half, harassing Yann Sommer in his six yard box. He led the pack and the hunt did not stop until Inter were historically beaten.

Luis Enrique has imbued this side with some of the scrappiness he blended into his great talent during his playing career; that ultra-technical triumvirate in the engine room really should have been getting pushed about by Premier League big beasts far more than it was.

What Luis Enrique has is a side that can do it all: controlling possession in midfield, flying across the field on counters where their forwards have no fixed abode and dominating duels with their outstanding back five. Best of all, they may be years off their collective peak. At an average age of 24 years, 262 days they gave up more than half a decade on their opponents, who had been finalists en masse two years ago. Marquinhos was the last man standing from the PSG side who lost the 2020 final. In what can only be described as anti-millennial discrimination, he is also the only player over 30 to feature for Les Parisiens this season. They have used four teenagers, not that you would know Doue doesn’t turn 20 for another three days.

It is hard to believe there can be much room to grow for a youngster who goes about everything with impudence. Some players peak early but PSG have enough bright young things that they can plan for a few to get even better. That is saying something when 22-year-old Nuno Mendes is the best lockdown left back in the game. At 20, Joao Neves has been one of the best tacklers in the Champions League, achieving the remarkable in winning the ball back at volume and with a greater than 50 percent success rate. At 24, Kvaratskhelia probably lies in the middle of PSG’s age distribution, but early years away from the spotlight make him a young 24 with only three years of top level European football. In that time, by the way, he has three league titles and a European Cup.

All this youth should have meant one thing. PSG should have frozen, all the more so given that Ligue 1 is such a flat track for them. The moment just did not got to them. Take the incident in the 36th minute when, lodged in the nearest Inter could approximate to a pressing trap, Nuno Mendes found the ball bouncing up awkwardly towards him. A swing of his left boot and a pass volleyed across field, freeing Achraf Hakimi to drive up the field.

Like the Real Madrid team that dominated the Champions League in the 2010s, there is something about the way that PSG play football that makes the other team freeze. Their road to Munich took them through Anfield, Villa Park and the Emirates Stadium, each of which were girding themselves up for one of their great European nights. On every occasion, PSG stamped on the balloon at the very outset.

They did it as effectively as ever on the biggest stage. Those 12 minutes that led to Hakimi’s opener were PSG probing, reaffirming that Dimarco was indeed the weak link. It was already dawning on Inter, Alessandro Bastoni rollicking his team mate after Dembele blew past him and shot at Sommer. Against Barcelona, Dimarco had managed to fade some of those defensive issues by getting up high and dragging Lamine Yamal back with him. This time out, Hakimi needed no helping hand. It was the same experience right across the pitch for the Italians. Individual battles became routs.

Unlike that Real Madrid side that should serve as their benchmark, PSG have had a pretty robust case for being the best team in Europe during the business end of the season. The quality has been there right across the field from the minute that Kvaratskhelia rocked up. It is only going to improve what with the infinite money glitch.

That is no guarantee of repeat triumphs. This might have been a very different final if Barcelona had made it. Arsenal and Liverpool pushed PSG close before Munich. Great teams rarely repeat in this competition, Luis Enrique knows that as well as anyone.

There is, however, nothing within PSG’s that is stopping them from here on out. This could be the first of many, the fourth French empire. They are now the team to beat.

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Rec Sports

Bismarck Youth Basketball Camp 2025: Pee Wee Lions, Lady Lion hoopsters learn fundamentals | Sports

BISMARCK — The Bismarck Lions basketball program hosted its pee wee youth fundamental skills camp Thursday, Friday July 11-12 in Bismarck. Preston Crowder, Bismarck basketball boys head coach assisted by Lion team members and retired coach Garry Crowder instructed campers on proper shooting, ball-handling, passing skills and techniques; as well as perfecting the defensive structure, […]

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50 minutes ago

July 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

BISMARCK — The Bismarck Lions basketball program hosted its pee wee youth fundamental skills camp Thursday, Friday July 11-12 in Bismarck.

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Rec Sports

Register Now for Mesa Parks and Recreation Fall Programs

Text to speech audio articles made possible by CAST11 Talking Glass Media Despite our triple-digit temperatures, fall is around the corner, and so is registration for Mesa Parks and Recreations fall programs. (City of Mesa Photo) Registration is now open for Mesa residents for the 2025 fall season (August, September, October). Mesa offers programs and […]

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1 hour ago

July 11, 2025

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Text to speech audio articles made possible by CAST11 Talking Glass Media

Despite our triple-digit temperatures, fall is around the corner, and so is registration for Mesa Parks and Recreations fall programs.

Register Now for Mesa Parks and Recreation Fall Programs

(City of Mesa Photo)

Registration is now open for Mesa residents for the 2025 fall season (August, September, October). Mesa offers programs and activities to people of all ages and abilities:

– Adult Sports: Kickball, cornhole, softball, volleyball, pickleball and Recess for Adults, which offers a new sport or game each week

– Youth Sports and Clinics: Co-ed flag football and all-girls flag football, NFL flag kinder clinic, cheer clinic, lacrosse clinic, soccer clinic and Playball multi-sport

– Teen Recreation: Flag football, junior tennis camps, Super Smash Bros E-Sports Tournament and Teen H.Y.P.E. (Helping Youth Produce Excellence) teen leadership initiative

– Adaptive Recreation: Swimming, bocce, rock climbing, yoga, fashion show

– Hobbies and Special Interests: Youth beginners ice skating (ages 7-12), all-star gymnastics (ages 1-4), Dungeons & Dragons (ages 8-14), judo (ages 10+), belly dance basics (ages 16+) and tai chi for wellness/beginners (ages 16+)

Additional offerings include lap swim at Skyline and Kino Aquatic Centers, Drop-In Pickleball for ages 18+, tennis clinics and leagues, after-school programs and fall break camps.

Mesa Parks and Recreation will also host special events such as the Dive-In Movie Aug. 16, Skate Party @ The Plaza Sept. 27, Celebrate Mesa, Oct. 11, Fall Carnival Oct. 24 and Pumpkin Splash Oct. 25. A full list of programs and activities is available in the fall PLAYBOOK Magazine.

All of these popular activities are the perfect way to keep families active while having fun. Non-residents can begin registering on Monday, July 14 at 8 a.m.

How to Register:

– Online using the Active Net Registration System

– Email: Send a completed registration form to ParksRecInfo@MesaAZ.gov

– Phone: Call 480-644-PLAY (7529)

– In-person: Visit the Mesa Parks and Recreation Office at 708 W. Baseline Road. Office hours are Monday-Thursday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Registration forms are available in English and Spanish. For questions, call 480-644-PLAY (7529). Some Mesa residents may qualify for the Mesa Recreation Scholarship MRS Discount, which provides 50% off youth and adaptive programs.

Rec Sports

On the fast track: Carrollton 12-year-old headed to Junior Olympics, 10th grade – Smithfield Times

On the fast track: Carrollton 12-year-old headed to Junior Olympics, 10th grade Published 1:11 pm Friday, July 11, 2025 Akaido “Jig” Mohammed of Carrollton flexes his muscles after placing in the top five in the 200 meter and 400 meter events at the AAU Track & Field Region 5 qualifier. (Photo courtesy of Candace Mohammed) […]

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2 hours ago

July 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

On the fast track: Carrollton 12-year-old headed to Junior Olympics, 10th grade

Published 1:11 pm Friday, July 11, 2025

: Akaido “Jig” Mohammed of Carrollton flexes his muscles after placing in the top five in the 200 meter and 400 meter events at the AAU Track & Field Region 5 qualifier. (Photo courtesy of Candace Mohammed)

Akaido “Jig” Mohammed isn’t your typical 12-year-old.

The budding track and field standout, who recently qualified to compete in the Amateur Athletic Union’s Junior Olympics, begins every morning with a 2-mile run. Then he gets right to his schoolwork without being prompted.

The Carrollton resident is already a rising sophomore in high school. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, his mother, Candace Mohammed, enrolled him in the Acellus Academy of Science and Technology, an online self-paced private K-12 school that prepares students for STEM-related careers.

“He was able to fly through a lot of his elementary and middle school courses pretty quickly,” Candace said.

He’s only in his first full year of participating in track and field competitions.

Last year, Jig joined Smithfield Packers Youth Sports’ track team, but an injury he sustained during his second meet took him out for the remainder of the season. He now trains with Chidi Okezie, a U.S.-born sprinter and Hampton University graduate who competed for Nigeria in the 2024 Paris Olympics. It was Okezie who recommended that Jig join the Technique Track Club in Hampton.

As a member of Technique, Jig earned two silver medals and one gold at the AAU district level. He then completed the 200 meter dash in 25.62 seconds and the 400 meter dash in just over a minute at the AAU Track & Field Region 5 qualifier June 28 in Newport News, qualifying in both events for the Junior Olympics, which will be held July 22 through Aug. 2 in Houston, Texas. Athletes with the five fastest scores qualify.

“The 200 meters, we weren’t expecting that one at all. He snuck in there on that,” Candace said.

According to the Houston Sports Authority, the AAU Junior Olympic Games are the largest youth multi-sport event in the nation. There, 15,000 youth athletes from across the country will compete in more than a dozen sports. This summer marks the 59th anniversary of the event and the fourth time Houston has hosted the games.

“He’s always been athletic,” Candace said of Jig, who has participated in soccer and basketball through Isle of Wight County Parks and Recreation. He also boxes in the off-season and has started training with Jerry Forrest, a professional heavyweight boxer in Newport News, but recently decided to focus on track.

“One thing about Jig, he’s a very shy, quiet, mild kid, so it’s hard because he’s not really going to express what he likes,” Candace said. But then “he smiles, and that’s when you know.”

During the pandemic, “it was hard for him to get excited about anything,” but “track is starting to give me my kid back,” she said. “He’s growing into something that you can see that he’s proud of himself.”

Candace said Jig hopes to one day compete for Isle of Wight County Schools, but his accelerated homeschooling has put him in an unusual situation.

In Virginia, public schools aren’t required to include homeschooled students in athletics or other extracurricular activities, but Isle of Wight County Schools has a policy allowing participation if homeschooled students enroll in at least two classes for the semester their sport or activity is in session, IWCS spokeswoman Lynn Briggs said.

But “I won’t make him repeat courses he’s already taken and I don’t want my 12-year-old among high-schoolers yet,” Candace said.

Candace said Jig’s dedication to his schoolwork and sport has inspired her to return to school. She started her first week at Norfolk State University this month, pursuing a psychology degree in hopes of becoming a licensed counselor.

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A2R Performance Development Brings Elite Youth Basketball Training to Hesperia

HESPERIA, Calif. (VVNG.com) — Local athlete and coach Aaron Alston is set to open his new basketball training facility, A2R Performance Development, in Hesperia with a grand opening celebration on Saturday, July 12, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The facility, located at 10968 I Ave, STE C, Hesperia, 92345, will host the community […]

Published

2 hours ago

July 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

HESPERIA, Calif. (VVNG.com) — Local athlete and coach Aaron Alston is set to open his new basketball training facility, A2R Performance Development, in Hesperia with a grand opening celebration on Saturday, July 12, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The facility, located at 10968 I Ave, STE C, Hesperia, 92345, will host the community event featuring complimentary hot dogs while supplies last, free merchandise for the first 10 children, and additional branded items available for purchase in support of the new small business.

Alston, a 2011 graduate of Hesperia High School and a long-time High Desert resident, said the launch of A2R Performance Development marks a significant milestone in his lifelong commitment to the sport and local youth.

“I’ve been training athletes of all levels since 2016, and for the past three years, I’ve been contracted by the City of Hesperia to run weekly basketball classes,” Alston said. “Opening this facility is a long-time dream that allows me to continue mentoring and inspiring young athletes in the community I love.”

The facility will offer one-on-one, small group, and large group basketball training, along with sport-specific conditioning and plyometric programs designed to boost speed, agility, and vertical performance. A2R is also home to the competitive AAU basketball team, A2R Elite.

Alston’s decorated basketball background includes leading Hesperia High to two Mojave River League championships and earning accolades such as First Team All-League, Mojave River League Athlete of the Year, and Citrus Belt Athlete of the Year. He went on to play collegiate basketball at Lower Columbia College, Southern University A&M, and Cal State Los Angeles, and has competed in elite Pro-Am leagues such as The Drew League and The Mecca.

In 2023, Alston was honored with a mural at the Hesperia Epicentre, recognizing his contributions to local sports and youth development.

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E’town 12U All-Stars compete in state tournament | Youth Sports

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2 hours ago

July 11, 2025

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Martin to Represent Team USA at Panam Bowling Youth Championship – University of Nebraska

Reigning NTCA Player of the Year Jillian Martin was named to the USBC Junior Team USA team which will represent the United States at the 2025 Panam Bowling Youth Championship, August 10-16. Martin was among eight young bowlers selected by the National Selection Committee to represent the states in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The 2025 Panam […]

Published

3 hours ago

July 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Reigning NTCA Player of the Year Jillian Martin was named to the USBC Junior Team USA team which will represent the United States at the 2025 Panam Bowling Youth Championship, August 10-16.

Martin was among eight young bowlers selected by the National Selection Committee to represent the states in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

The 2025 Panam Bowling Youth Championship will be held at the Metrobowl Zone 15 in Guatemala City, with the opening ceremony and official practice beginning August 10. Singles competition will begin the next day, with team competition starting on August 14.

The three-time first-team All-American is coming off a season in which she led the NTCA in nine individual categories en route to being named NTCA Bowler of the Year. Martin will join Junior Team USA for the fourth time in her career.

Stay up to date with the action by following the Nebraska Women’s Bowling Twitter (@HuskerBowling), Instagram (@huskerbowling) and Facebook.

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