Rec Sports

The Curious Juggernaut: The DPRK Women’s Youth Teams

Published

1 week ago

January 1, 2026

North Korea isn’t quite a traditional footballing powerhouse, but in recent years, the nation’s youth women’s national teams have been nothing if not dominant.

The Hermit Kingdom. International Pariah. Terrorist State.

The very name of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or North Korea, evokes sentiments of dystopia, dictatorship, and backwardness. Compared to their cosmopolitan, larger-than-life neighbors to the south, the communist north presents as a gray morass of state-mandated conformity and suppression.

Its mercurial leader, Kim Jong-Un, is as close to an international boogeyman as exists in modern geopolitics, frequently portrayed as an unhinged madman with his finger hovering perilously above the nuclear button. North Korea’s citizens are subjected to an overwhelming onslaught of state propaganda in nearly all facets of life, attempting to convince them that the world is out to get them and that they stand alone against the capitalist monsters at their doorstep.

For more than half a century, soccer has been called, almost past the point of irony, the beautiful game. It emphasizes creative expression, ecstatic play, and the exhilaration of enigmatic moments and personalities above all else. So how in the world has North Korea, which embodies the very converse of these ideals, been so immensely successful in the arena of women’s youth soccer?

Unparalleled Success

It’s exceedingly difficult to brand any youth international team a “powerhouse.” After all, the nature of these teams is that players age out of them. You might get a golden generation here and there that wins big throughout various age groups, but those players invariably graduate to the senior level, where they either sink or swim (in many cases the former). The North Korean women’s youth national teams, on the other hand, have laid down a marker at international competitions in recent years that is not likely to be replicated by any team in the world.

On November 8, 2025, in Rabat, Morocco, the DPRK’s U-17 women’s side went up against their Dutch counterparts for the world title. The Netherlands rode their luck to get to this stage, scraping by on penalties against the United States and France before eking out a 1-0 win against Mexico in the semifinals. The Dutch were considered a big, physical side that no one in their right mind would want to play against.

The final against North Korea, however, was a forgone conclusion. The young Dutch stood not a snowball’s chance in hell. They’d been drubbed in the group stage by their Asian opponents, arriving at an embarrassing 5-0 scoreline that left little doubt as to which was the better side.

It was over seemingly before it began. The ferocious and fearless North Koreans pounced on every loose ball and ran out to a 3-0 lead before halftime. The goals themselves were amateurish at best, emblematic of a supremely confident squad taking on an overwhelmed opponent who was truly out of its depth. The Dutch conceded via the failure to clear a looping ball, then by turning over deep in their own territory, and finally by playing an underhit backpass, which was gobbled up by North Korea’s Pak Rye-Yong.

Star 16-year-old striker Yu Jong-hyang took home the Golden Ball award for best player of the tournament, and bagged the Golden Boot for her eight goals in the competition.

Following the match, Dutch coach Olivier Amelink was magnanimous, telling FIFA.com, “I don’t think we could have beaten them. I think the gap between Korea DPR and us is simply too big to compete with them at the moment.”

The tournament in Morocco was the fourth edition of the Women’s U-17 World Cup, won by the DPRK for the second time in as many years. It is the most successful team in the history of the competition, but the fireworks don’t end with that age group. The North Korea Women’s U-20 team has won the World Cup three times, most recently in 2024, with victories over traditional powerhouses the United States, Japan, and Brazil en route.

Pyongyang Academy

The crown jewel of the North Korean sporting establishment is the Pyongyang International Football Academy. Opened in 2012, the academy is a sprawling three-acre modern soccer training facility located just to the southwest of the national team’s home, May Day Stadium, in the heart of Pyongyang.

The school boasts around 200 players between the ages of 7 and 17. They are identified by a massive, nationwide scouting network that brings the most talented youngsters and their families to the capital to undergo intense schooling and soccer training. This opportunity represents a sort of upward mobility for rural families, as life in the North Korean capital is described as far more pleasant than the far-flung agrarian lifestyle.

This state-level sporting investment can actually be traced back to the late North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il, who, in the 1980s, served as a sort of cultural decision maker in his father’s government. He tried his hand at everything, from filmmaking to music to sports. In 1985, the Kim family announced a program of state investment in women’s soccer, surprising many since the sport had been played exclusively by North Korean men up to that point.

Some assert that the burgeoning world of women’s sports had a lower barrier to entry than men’s sports and would be a field rich with propagandizing victories over Western rivals. This investment led little by little to a formalization of women’s sports in the country, organized under the banner of the central government in Pyongyang, which went on to found various high-level sporting academies that served a singular purpose: to create generations of high-performance athletes to be trotted out as proof of communist exceptionalism.

The Pyongyang Academy and North Korea’s investment in women’s sports can be seen as an early and prominent form of the practice that has been so prevalent in recent years: sportswashing. Currently, it’s a bevy of Persian Gulf oil states using massive investment in sports as a vehicle for rehabilitating their public image. FIFA and its cadre of satellite federations have only been too happy to accept their tainted lucre.

At least the DPRK is claiming to educate its athletes! The North Korean state assures us that the education their players receive at the Pyongyang Academy is well-rounded. According to the DPRK’s official website, “Football players should be prepared physically and technically. However, they can achieve deserved results only when they are supported by independent judgment and other creative thoughts. A future football ace is among those who can anticipate two or more through the one taught by teachers and get into action promptly.”

Critics will point out the irony of a dictatorial, homogenous regime ostensibly emphasizing the importance of creativity and self-expression. Conversely, the militaristic training and overtly nationalistic environment of the Pyongyang Academy are common explanations for the domination of the North Korean youth teams. How, we wonder, can Western, African, or Middle Eastern teams compete with heavy-handed state control of the entire sporting establishment?

Young players in, for lack of a better term, capitalist countries are actually taught the value of expression and individualism on the pitch; it’s not just lip service. They aren’t, like the North Koreans, subjected to intense physical training that would make GI Jane sick to her stomach. Young Dutch, American, or English women aren’t subject to punishment at the hands of their own government if they fail to perform well in international competition.

Some will point out that North Korea in international competition plays not only for individual glory or the success of a nation, but as a reflection of their entire communist existence, as a proof of concept of a social and economic organization that most of the rest of the world has eschewed. Is it possible that 16-year-olds have so enthusiastically internalized this struggle?

What’s worse, some outside critics have even levied accusations of gender-based cheating at the North Korean teams, asserting that some of their young women might, in fact, be young men.

It’s important to note that none of these accusations come with much merit. Although rumors circulated following the men’s disastrous 2010 World Cup campaign that various players and coaches had been thrown in re-education camps. These reports are dubious, with none of the major news outlets able to corroborate these sensational detentions. There were confirmed “criticism sessions” carried out at which players and coaches were made to explain publicly the reasons for their failure. But hey, does that really sound much worse than a press conference with British media?

As far as the gender thing is concerned, I don’t think anyone has offered much in the way of evidence other than the young North Korean women having short haircuts.

This is certainly not meant to exonerate the oftentimes cruel and draconian North Korea regime. The DPRK has a long history of sporting crimes, principally maltreatment of athletes and doping. What seems a bridge too far, however, is devaluing the success of these teams because of the society in which they live, or using their particular way of life as a cheap explanation for their being very, very good at soccer. “Of course they’re good at soccer!” a critic might charge. “Their government will kill them if they’re not!”

It’s hard to watch the DPRK women’s youth teams play and overlay a collective fear of state retribution. Their play is not particularly rigid or drilled, and occasionally includes a type of flair and creativity that wouldn’t look out of place on the beaches of Copacabana. Upon scoring their myriad goals at this year’s U-17 Women’s World Cup, none of the North Korean players’ faces betrayed any sense of relief, but instead highlighted a heightened camaraderie and belief among the team. This is to say, it’s entirely possible that these young women are supremely talented, have a deep, abiding passion for the game of soccer, and just happen to live in a cloistered communist dystopia. Multiple things can be true.

What’s Next?

In the modern geopolitical climate, North Korean players are severely limited in terms of their soccer development.

Before the pandemic, there was a smattering of male players from the DPRK who managed to make their marks in European club football. Notably, Han Kwang-song played for Cagliari in Serie A and became the first-ever Asian player to appear on the bench for Juventus, but had his European career prematurely shuttered by United Nations sanctions that prevented North Koreans from living and working abroad in response to Pyongyang’s insistence on pursuing its renegade nuclear weapons program.

Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images

Han reportedly spent two to three years trapped at North Korea’s embassy in China during the COVID-19 pandemic, unable to return to his home country due to travel restrictions. He finally returned to action on the pitch for April 25 Sports Club, a team based in Pyongyang, in 2023.

This is a possible explanation for why the women’s team has been, as of yet, unable to repeat their youth success at the senior level. Players are limited in terms of moving abroad to foreign clubs because of international work restrictions. They also lack any sort of mechanism for receiving their salaries; any money players earn would be funneled directly to the North Korean state, which, in legalese, would amount to any foreign club funding “state terrorism.”

The litany of international sanctions levied against North Korea has rendered the nation unable to continue its upward trajectory in the world of international soccer. For talented North Korean women like Kim Phyong-hwa and Choe Il-son to make moves to major European or American clubs, the North Korean regime would have to make major diplomatic inroads, submitting to heretofore untenable processes like nuclear weapons and human rights inspections. That is why, as of this writing, each and every player representing North Korea on the men’s and women’s national teams plays their club football domestically.

The team is also limited in terms of opponents. The North Korean federation withdrew from men’s World Cup qualifying for 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and did not return to international competition until 2023. The women’s team similarly retreated from international play until recently. The country also suffers from a lack of willing opponents for FIFA friendly windows, and this past year, the men’s side was forced to play a series of friendlies against lower-division Russian clubs.

This came after the great shame of the North Korean women being banned from participation in the 2015 Women’s World Cup. Multiple DPRK players tested positive for prohibited substances at the 2011 Women’s World Cup after FIFA blanket-tested the entire squad. The North Korean federation came out with an absolute banger of an explanation for the test results, claiming that the banned substance in question was actually a traditional Chinese medicine derived from deer musk, used to treat people who have been struck by lightning. FIFA fined the North Koreans $400,000 and effectively cast them into the international soccer doldrums for an entire generation.

But if the North Korean women continue their success at the senior level at the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil, the team’s immensely talented individual players will be impossible to ignore. It won Group H in the first round of Asian qualifying for the tournament, boasting a plus-26 differential after only three games. The 2026 Women’s Asian Cup actually serves as the final round of qualifying for the federation, with all semifinalists automatically qualifying and quarterfinal teams going into a playoff for the final two spots.

International tournaments have always served as a springboard to high-profile moves at the club level, and it would come as no great surprise to see some intrepid European or American club seek to entice the regime with an irresistible offer.

What comes next is the purview of political scientists and analysts the world over. Will the DPRK regime decide that sports continue to be a low-cost way to showcase the exceptionality of its communist regime? Or will relations continue to freeze over with the rest of the world, condemning a golden generation of nascent North Korean superstars to stagnate in an unholy footballing purgatory?

The North Korean women will almost certainly line up at the next World Cup in 18 months’ time. It’s a safe bet that no one will want to play them. We can only hope that, from a soccer perspective, its brightest young stars are allowed to shine.

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Roundup of news from Hull’s wide world of sports — The Hull Times

Published

1 hour ago

January 9, 2026

Your Sports Nation

• The Hull High Boys Varsity Basketball team also split its last two matchups, losing a close game, 48-47, to Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter School in Boston on Friday, January 2, and defeating Falmouth Academy at home, 60-20, on Monday. Up next for the 3-2 team are a rematch with Academy of the Pacific Rim at home on Thursday, January 8 at 6:30 p.m. and a road game against Upper Cape Cod Regional Vocational Technical High School on Friday, January 9 at 6:30 p.m. The JV squad defeated the Academy of the Pacific Rim team, 54-35, on January 2 and will play the Dragons again on Thursday at 5 p.m. before the varsity game.

• The Girls Varsity Basketball team is 0-6 on the season after losses to Ursuline Academy in the Scituate Holiday Tournament, 40-19, on December 31, and a 44-37 loss on the road to New Heights Charter School in Brockton on Monday. Next up for the Pirates are a road game against Boston Latin Academy on Friday, January 9 at 6 p.m. and then home matchups against Excel Academy Charter School on Monday, January 12 at 6:30 p.m. and Abington High School on Wednesday, January 14 at 5:30 p.m.

• The Hingham-Hull Cooperative Gymnastics squad’s next competition will be held on Saturday, January 10 at 6 p.m. against Scituate High School at the South Shore YMCA Gymnastics Training Center.

• The next meet for the Boys and Girls Indoor Track teams will be against Mashpee on Monday, January 26 at 4 p.m. at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.

• For the full schedule for each Hull High team, visit www.arbiterlive.com/Teams?entityId=10611.

• Hull Pirates In-Town Youth Basketball begins this weekend. Programs include a skills and drills co-ed session for grades 1 and 2 from 8-9 a.m., a co-ed program for grades 3 and 4 from 9-10 a.m., as well as an open gym program (also co-ed) for grades 5-8 from 10-11:30 a.m., all at the Jacobs School gym. Some travel teams are on the road this weekend, but there are home games as well:

Saturday, January 10 at the Jacobs School: Girls Grade 6 vs. Hingham at 2 p.m.; Girls Grade 7 vs. Marshfield at 3 p.m.; Girls Grade 8 vs. Cohasset at 4 p.m.

Sunday, January 11 at the Jacobs School: Girls Grade 7 vs. Halifax at 12 p.m.

Sunday, January 11 at the Hull High: Boys Grade 8 vs. Hanover at 1 p.m.; Boys Grade 4 vs. Scituate at 2:15 p.m.; Boys Grade 3 vs. Norwell at 3:30 p.m.

For more information, visit http://hullbasketball.leagueapps.com/camps.

• A combined Girls 3/4 travel basketball team competes at the fourth-grade level and has a record of 1-3. Next games are against Kingston on Saturday, January 10 at 6 p.m. and against Sandwich on Sunday, January 11 at 2 p.m. All games are played at Indian Head Elementary School in Hanson, so fans have to travel to take in a game. The full schedule of game times and weekly opponents is at this link: www.oldcolonybasketball.org/team/hull/4/1.

• Registration is open for Hull Youth Lacrosse – two travel teams and the in-town programs – through January 22. For more information, visit www.hulllax.com or email hullyouthlax@gmail.com if you have any questions.

• Coaches, league organizers, and superfans – We need your help to report the scores and results of the latest events in Hull’s sports world! Please send local sports news and photos to sports@hulltimes.com. Deadline is Wednesday at noon. When providing details of the games or races, please be sure to include the sport/team, the players’ full names, and the final scores. When sending photos, names of those pictured are greatly appreciated, as well as who should get credit for taking the photo.

Thank you for your help!

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Century standout travels through Europe with Northern Lights Volleyball club team – Post Bulletin

Published

3 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Your Sports Nation

The Northern Lights Volleyball 16-1 club team spent the holidays traveling through Europe and competing in two tournaments abroad Dec. 25-Jan. 5.

The team won the 18U Youth Alpen Tournament in Innsbruck, Austria and took third place in the 19U SV Dynamo International Youth Tournament in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.

The 16-1 team out of Burnsville, Minn., is made up of players from high schools around the state, including Rochester Century’s sophomore Laney Stellmaker. Other players on the roster attend Eagan, Prior Lake, St. Paul Academy, Lakeville North, East Ridge, Thomas Jefferson (Bloomington), Waconia and Chanhassen.

According to its website, the SV Dynamo tournament “guarantees three days of top-level volleyball with the best youth teams from the Netherlands and beyond. For many clubs, the youth tournament has been the ideal preparation for the Open Club (national championships for club teams). Foreign top youth teams see the tournament as a unique opportunity to measure their strength against European opponents.”

The NLV 16-2 team also traveled and competed in the tournaments, finishing third in Apeldoorn and sixth in Innsbruck.

Players from both teams documented their travels with

journals and videos.

Stellmaker, an All-Big Nine selection, recorded 493 set assists, 200 kills, 313 digs, 61 ace serves and 20 blocks during her sophomore campaign with the Panthers. She also reached 1,000 career set assists during the 2025 season.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

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Introducing Community Coach | USA Ultimate

Published

3 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Colorado Springs, Colo. (January 8, 2026) – USA Ultimate has recently made available a new, free resource for adults teaching young, beginning ultimate players. This new program, titled Community Coach, offers a learning experience targeted to individuals who have an interest in coaching but limited experience with the sport of ultimate.

The effort — led by USA Ultimate’s Youth and Education Program Manager Sam Callan — was developed in collaboration with Youth Programs Director Dan Raabe and Grant Boyd of USA Ultimate Affiliate, California Ultimate, with input from others in the ultimate coaching community.

The program went live with a soft launch near the end of last year and is currently available through the USA Ultimate’s Mobile Coach website and app.

The course is aimed at those looking to start middle school programs and includes:

An introduction to coaching, including advice from elite ultimate coach Matty Tsang.
A module covering the basics of the game and how to facilitate a learning environment with videos covering how to teach skills, including throwing and catching.
Videos featuring longtime ultimate coach Libby Cravens explaining how to teach offensive and defensive plays.
Four introductory practice plans with equipment lists and advice for how to change things up to fit different groups and spaces.
A kid-friendly rules introduction and additional resources.

“We are excited to introduce this new coaching program for adults who are newcomers to ultimate,” shared Callan. “Making ultimate accessible is an ongoing goal of USAU and getting parents and teachers involved is a great way to extend the availability of ultimate programming to youth who are exploring new sports.”

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More pools and pickleball — a quick guide to what’s in Pima County’s new parks master plan

Published

4 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Pima County is getting ready to invest in parks and pools — and new splash pads, expanded aquatics programs and upgraded community centers are coming.

Those measures and many others are included in the county’s first-ever Parks and Recreation Master Plan, which will guide how the department spends money and plans facilities for the next 10-20 years. Here are the highlights.

The big ideas

The plan identifies six priority areas to guide decision-making: strengthening organizational capacity, expanding access and equity, maintaining existing assets, broadening recreation programs, enhancing partnerships and advancing sustainability.

Action items in the 20-year plan include:

Investing in pool facilities at several locations to replace outdated pumps, filters, heaters and locker rooms
Modernizing community centers on the northwest side, south side and west side to improve accessibility and functionality
Developing Esmond Station Park in the Vail area to meet recreation needs in one of the county’s fastest-growing regions
Adding new splash pads and shaded playgrounds countywide
Expanding aquatics capacity and youth sports programming
Converting turf to drought-tolerant landscaping and transitioning parks to reclaimed water irrigation
Installing solar lighting at five or more parks and replacing athletic field lights with LEDs

What the county manages now

Pima County Parks and Recreation oversees 41 parks across 5,707 acres, 12 community centers, nine pools, 106 sports fields, nine dog parks, three shooting range complexes, and 150 miles of multi-use paths — including the popular 138-mile Chuck Huckelberry Loop. The department also runs a swim team program with more than 800 young swimmers.

The City of Tucson and other local towns maintain their own systems of parks, separate from the county system.

Why the plan matters

The department is facing financial pressures. According to benchmarking data in the plan, Pima County’s parks funding is $17 per capita compared to $24 at the low end nationally — a gap of about $6.6 million annually.

Staffing is also below national benchmarks. The department has about 237 full-time employees, roughly 25 fewer than recommended for a system this size. And budget growth has trailed inflation by 22.7%, leaving the department about $1.5 million short of its 2019 inflation-adjusted spending level.

Popular programs like swim lessons and water aerobics regularly sell out early in the season at pools like Manzanita and Kino, but staffing and facility constraints prevent the department from expanding offerings to meet demand.

A family enjoys Flowing Wells Park, a Pima County property, on Oct. 4, 2025. Credit: Becky Pallack

What the community said

The planning process gathered input from more than 650 households through surveys, plus feedback at community events including Tucson Meet Yourself, the Rillito and Rincon Valley Farmers Markets, the Fourth Avenue Street Fair, and the Tucson Rodeo.

Common themes emerged across all five county districts:

Repairing and updating existing parks, pools and community centers
Expanding aquatics programs and community events
Adding walking loops, dog parks and playgrounds
Improving overall sports field and park access
More pickleball courts

Among the more surprising requests is a cricket field in Catalina Foothills.

What’s next

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission approved the plan on Nov. 14 and then the Board of Supervisors approved it on Dec. 16.

Implementation will require general fund support and is expected to unfold in three phases: short-term goals through Fiscal Year 2030, mid-term goals through 2035, and long-term sustainability initiatives extending to 2046.

Paying for these improvements will be the topic of future county budget discussions. Some capital projects, including pool renovations and park updates, may be funded through bond initiatives.

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Lakers’ JJ Redick reflects on ‘resilience’ and loss a year after Los Angeles wildfires

Published

5 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Your Sports Nation

SAN ANTONIO — JJ Redick’s phone buzzed during the Los Angeles Lakers’ coaches meeting Wednesday in San Antonio, just as the staff began trying to figure out a way to beat a conference rival on the second night of a back- to-back.

Redick knew the anniversary was near. But he didn’t know it was that date until he read his wife, Chelsea’s, Instagram post and all of the emotions flooded back. Tears filled his eyes.

“Sorry, guys,” he told his staff.

A year ago, the Lakers were in Dallas when Redick woke up from a pregame nap to learn that his family would be evacuating the house they rented in the Pacific Palisades, a community they planned to make their permanent Los Angeles home. A fire that began in the Santa Monica Mountains sprinted through dried-out vegetation pushed by dangerous winds. By nightfall, it devoured nearly an entire community, including the home in which Redick, his wife and two children were living. Another fire in the nearby San Gabriel Mountains did the same in Altadena. In total, at least 31 people died. An estimated 13,000 homes were destroyed.

In the 12 months since, Redick and his family bounced from hotels to short-term rentals and then back again to hotels. He and his family have vowed to rebuild the Palisades Recreation Center, where his sons once played youth sports. That effort continues this week with the foundation Redick co-founded, LA Sports Strong, hosting its largest fundraiser to date on Thursday.

Following the Lakers’ loss to the San Antonio Spurs on the first anniversary of the fires, Redick told The Athletic that the impact of the fire on his family and friends still lingers — and has even brought to light again the characteristics in the people he loves most.

“Sometimes you have to be reminded by the resilience of people,” Redick said. “We’re having a big event (Thursday). It’s our first real large fundraising event for the rebuild of the rec center. We’re making a lot of headway. And seeing families that have relocated multiple times over the last year — we had to as well — we were in a hotel for five and a half to 10 months before we ended up getting settled. … I told Chelsea today … I’m proud of her, and I’m proud of the kids, and I’m proud of all our friends.

“It’s been a lot for a year.”

Redick and his family recently moved into a new home. Many of his friends and neighbors have not.

As he reflected on the past year, Redick didn’t revisit the horrific drive through the Palisades the morning after the fire, the difficult trip back with a reporter or the grief-filled nights inside hotel lobbies with friends who had lost everything. Instead, he spoke with some level of gratitude for his loved ones and their resilience through a defining period in their lives.

“The first 10 days, you’re devastated,” he said. “You’re in shock, and you’re just trying to function in some ways.”

In some ways, Redick’s family was fortunate. He said his sons’ school wasn’t impacted by the fires, so they had some sense of normalcy. His job, too, created an escape. But the devastation landed hardest at home — particularly for his wife.

“I think for a long time, Chelsea, she wore it the hardest. And she’s a mom, and what do moms want? They want to nest. They want to have a bed for their kids, and they want to have stuff up on the walls that show that this is where we live and this is where our family plays Rummikub together and watches stupid Netflix kid shows together. Like the disruption of that.”

Nearly all of their personal belongings, and the routines that had given the family comfort, were lost in the fires.

“It didn’t really get normal again for a long time,” Redick said. “And I think a lot of people are still going through that. And that was the angst that we felt as a family. I know my boys felt it for months and months after. And it wasn’t until we felt settled again. And even that took two to three weeks of, ‘Oh, OK, we can actually turn off that valve of anxiety that we’ve had for the last 10 months.’”

In the immediate aftermath of the fires, Redick became one of the public faces of the tragedy. He spoke emotionally about the rec center and the bonds he formed in the Palisades following the Lakers’ first practice back after the fires. He was raw, and he promised to try to be a part of solutions.

A year later, he remembered that sentiment.

“I talked about our family. We were, we’re gonna be fine,” he remembered. “We were gonna go through the very specific challenges that our family was gonna face. And that was devastating and sad. And was emotional.

“I think the harder part, and it still is, it’s like that sense of loss of community. … We still feel that. And all the people that we hung out with in Palisades, we still hang out with them all the time, but they’re just not in the Palisades.”

Stories like this, tied to the anniversary, remember the devastation. For Redick, the reminders are constant.

“There are certainly stories like us. Like, now we’re settled. But I know so many people that aren’t still settled,” Redick said. “And it’s just amazing to see their … spirit and hope and optimism. We all have bad days, but the resiliency really just stuck out to me about everyone in that community.”

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UW-La Crosse aims to break attendance record Saturday during Bubba’s Youth Day honoring coach Moran Lonning’s son

Published

6 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Your Sports Nation

UW-La Crosse is inviting the community to Mitchell Hall on Saturday for a day of play and remembrance, dedicated to the legacy of Charlie “Bubba” Lonning Weber.

The festivities kick off at from noon-2:45 p.m. with the Charlie’s Kids fest, and lead into the UW-L women’s basketball game after that, where attendance is free and they hope to break the WIAC single-game attendance record of 2,112 fans.

The game will also feature a deeply personal tribute, as the Eagles take the court in special jerseys. Each jersey will be inscribed with the names of 19 infants who have passed away, serving as a visual memorial to raise awareness for pregnancy and infant loss.

Know before you go: Bubba’s Youth Day & Charlie’s Kids fest

If you are planning to help “Fill Mitchell Hall” Saturday, here is the schedule and what you need to know:

Charlie’s Kids fest (Noon–2:45 p.m.): The pre-game party takes place in the Mitchell Hall Fieldhouse. It features inflatables, obstacle courses, and activity stations for kids (preschool through 8th grade).
The Big Game (3 p.m.): Stick around as UW-La Crosse Women’s Basketball takes on UW-Platteville. This is the official push to break the WIAC attendance record of 2,112 fans.
Admission is FREE: Both the fest and the basketball game are free for fans of all ages.
Registration & Waivers: While the event is free, children participating in the fest must be accompanied by an adult. You can save time by signing the required waiver online before you arrive.
The Cause: The event is hosted by Bubba’s Fund, which supports the Charlie’s Kids Foundation. Their mission is to provide SIDS education and “sleep safe” resources to new parents, a mission that has already significantly impacted childcare safety in the La Crosse area.

While the record is a target, organizers say the primary goal is to “Fill Mitchell Hall” with support for a cause that has already transformed local childcare safety.

Alex Weber (left), Moran Lonning and Charlie “Bubba” Lonning Weber (PHOTO: bubbasfund.org)

The event supports Bubba’s Fund, established by UW-L women’s basketball coach Moran Lonning and her husband, Alex Weber, after their son Charlie passed away in 2024 at just three months old.

Since then, the fund has reached a major milestone in successfully providing automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to every state-licensed childcare facility in La Crosse.

Saturday’s events will help sustain that momentum and support “Rising Athletes,” a nonprofit that removes financial barriers for local youth sports.

Charlie’s Kids Fest at Mitchell Hall Fieldhouse is free for children (preschool through 8th grade) and features inflatables, obstacle courses, plus a chance to play alongside UW-L student-athletes.

Parents are encouraged to sign a participation waiver in advance at bubbasfund.org.

Moran was a guest on La Crosse Talk on Thursday morning with Sean Dwyer.

La Crosse Talk airs weekdays at 6-8 a.m. Listen on the WIZM app, online here, or on 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska). Find the show on Apple Podcast, Spotify or here.

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