The Head Coach  of UAF basketball, Frank Ostanik, was in town conducting a basketball clinic at Haines high school. He brought his star player Mike Miller to wow the kids, and share some new skills. The event hosted 2nd graders to 12th grade and totaled 51 students. Ostanik held a separate 10 hour clinic for specialized training. Spencer Baumgartner, Parker Baumgartner, Leon Rogers and George Shove completed three additional days of basketball skills at the basketball camp in Skagway. Jordon Baumgartner, Youth Sports Director, organized the event and says that he expects to do it again next year. 

Jonah Wray, son of Jon and Sydney Wray, showed up late for work at Lutak lumber on Friday. He was scheduled for 9am and showed up at 10am. His trusty one-wheel performed flawlessly on the commute. His alarm clock usually works flawlessly as well. His haircut isn’t as aerodynamic as normal, but that is his father’s fault. The Wray Family would like to formally apologize to Lutak Lumber and the citizens of Haines. 

Julien Alder and Lisa Ann Pinkerton were married on Friday June 27th at Viking Cove. The newlyweds have been together for 18 years, the last five of those in an RV. They say that they fell in love with Haines three years ago and hope to soon make it their home full time. The 80 guests were from Haines, Oregon, California, New York and as far away as France and Portugal. The Men of Mus played the music, the couple joined in on guitar and bass. Pinkerton says that their plans for a destination wedding in Hawaii switched to Haines because they wanted the wedding budget to have an impact in the community. All the vendors were Alaskan, the food was local and items were rehomed after purchase. The happy couple will remain in Haines through September this year. 

Gershon Cohen had a room full of skilled chess players at the first chess meet-up at the library. The library is hosting a “learn to play chess” for kids 8-15 on Mondays at 10 am. Cohen started his introduction explaining what “opening theory” is and showed the kids various advantages to improve their game. The kids all had a basic knowledge of the game and seemed to move on to the difference between attacking and playing a defensive game seamlessly. Zephyr Cox, Hugh Rietze, North Bishop, Milo Beck, and Hunter Wishstar discussed each others’ games and the best options for various pieces. Hunter says that his favorite chess piece is the rook. Milo would tell you that the queen is the superior chess piece. 

Pat and Mary Egan of Whitehorse, YT recently completed the KCIBR. They have not missed one since it began in 1993. The Egan’s and Sockeye Cycle founder, Tom Ely organized the first one as a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Haines highway. The first ride had 170 participants. Pat Egan says that the second year was 450+. The following year had 750 riders and it was later capped at 1200. This year around 900 participated. The bike race was originally part of a four-day event that began with Canada Day, a boat regatta on day two, the bike race on day three and The 4th of July celebration on the last day. Over time the planners of the race decided that the traffic on the highway an issue over the holiday, which is how the third week in June became the KCIBR date. 

Jeanine Ward and Dustin Rumfelt were married on June 28 on the Park stage at the Fairgrounds in Haines. Gomi’s Garden supplied the plants for the ceremony. Ward’s best friend, Casandra Nash was the officiant. Jeanine Ward’s nephews Tanner and Torres Schramm were the ring bearers. The flower girls were Harper Rumfelt, Delilah Nash and Theodora Schramm. 

The reception followed at Harriet hall. Caroline Hankins provided the music. The guests enjoyed a pig roast and plenty of salmon and crab. The newlyweds plan to honeymoon in Thailand for two weeks at New Years. 

Thursday, July 3rd, 2025 By Léo Azambuja/Interim Editor

Léo Azambuja

By Léo Azambuja
Former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning — one of the greatest football players ever — once said “the most valuable player is the one who makes the most players valuable.” The Akana family does just that: they have been hosting a free kids football clinic on Molokai for the last five years to give back to their community.
“We were raised here on Molokai. There are 10 siblings, eight boys, two girls. We have all since moved,” Ry Akana said of him and his siblings, who now live on the Mainland and in Honolulu. “But Molokai has done so much for us on the athletic front that we felt like we needed to give back.”
The Molokai Football Skills Camp taught comprehensive football skills to dozens of Molokai and Lanai children, ages 8 to 17, on June 27 and 28.
Akana ran the camp offered by Akana Athletics, which brought about 15 coaches to Molokai, among them former NFL and college players. Together with local coaches, they taught football skills and fundamentals, how to safe-tackle and safe-block, speed and agility and other skills. The kids also played football games.
“To attend this kind of camp costs a lot of money, and it’s a hardship. Some families here are not able to do that,” he said. “Our mission is to bring a quality camp to Molokai so that the kids can get better.”
On Friday, the first day, the camp started at Kaunakakai Park at 2 p.m. It was focused on flag football for boys and girls.
“Flag football is more non-contact, and you’re playing with flags, you pull flags. Contact football is tackle,” Akana said. “We want to encourage them to play flag, learn the basic fundamentals of football: catching, throwing, running, all of those types of things. And then when they go to high school, they’ll be ready to play organized tackle football.”
Flag football, he said, will become an Olympic sport in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Because of that, there has been an influx of girls in flag football programs in high schools and colleges lately.
“I’m really proud of our girls, the Molokai girls,” Akana said. “Flag football is really on the rise right now. It’s a high school sport now. It’s also going to be a collegiate sport offering scholarships to girls. And with the Olympics introducing flag football into the Olympic Games, there’s a window of opportunity for these girls to advance in a sport that they like to play.”
Close to 100 kids attended the flag football camp. After learning skills, the children played three flag football games. One was for the younger children, followed by the girls. The last game, at 7 p.m. was for Molokai High School against Lanai High School children.
The second day of the camp, Saturday, was focused on tackle football. It was held on the field in front of Molokai High School in Ho‘olehua from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
About 100 kids attended the tackle football camp, again with participation from Lanai schoolkids. The kids practiced several drills before playing football games.
“Competition comes in the fall, that’s when everything starts. But in the off season, we just want to make everybody better,” Akana said. “The kids are just having fun, competing. It’s just a good vibe. Look at all the people coming out to watch. It’s just beautiful to have the island behind it.”
Friendly Market and Misaki’s donated food and drinks for the children.
Akana Athletics LLC is “a comprehensive sports development cooperative aimed at providing individuals the vehicle to attain peak and athletic and academic performance,” according to their website.
Akana, founder and president of Akana Athletics, is currently based in Seattle, where he coaches at high-school level. Many of his brothers serve as board members of Akana Athletics.
Visit www.akanaathletics.com for additional information.

 

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) -Two Jonesboro youth sports programs are now open for registration.

The first is the Wolf Cub Tackle Football Program.

The program is for third through sixth graders and is associated with the local schools.

The second, a new NFL Flag Football Program, where the children get to wear NFL jerseys.

Jonesboro Parks and Recreation Director Danny Kapales said these programs give the children a chance to get involved in the world of football.

“It’s just to have the opportunity to form a love of the game of football,” said Kapales. “Whether you enjoy playing it, watching it, it’s just a great chance to get out and be active.”

To learn more about either program or how to register, click here.

To report a typo or correction, please click here.

Copyright 2025 KAIT. All rights reserved.

A new U.S. analysis spanning more than 800,000 students finds that middle and high school students who participate in sports are significantly less likely to report suicidal thoughts or behaviors — even as youth suicide rates have climbed nationwide. Yet sports participation has declined for a number of reasons, potentially limiting access to this important protective factor.

The analysis, “Assessing the Association Between Sport Participation and Suicide Ideation and Behaviors Among Middle and High School Students in the U.S. Between 2007 and 2023,” is published in the August 2025 Annals of Epidemiology and led by Massy Mutumba, assistant professor at the School of Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis. She completed the research while at the University of Michigan. Co-authors are Philip T. Veliz, John Jardine and Ashley Cureton, all of the University of Michigan. 

“Historically, organized sports have been an important protective factor against suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and they still are,” Mutumba said. “But fewer students are participating, especially in middle school, and we need to find new ways to expand access and integrate mental health into sports settings.”

Suicide is rising at an alarming rate among children and teens in the U.S., creating a serious public health crisis. It is the eighth leading cause of death for kids ages 10-14 and the third for youth ages 15-24. In this study, researchers analyzed Youth Risk Behavior Survey data from 2007 to 2023 drawing on responses from 326,085 middle schoolers and 508,737 high schoolers across 41 states. Among middle school students, 20.5% had seriously considered suicide, 13.5% had made a plan and 8.6% had attempted it. Among high school students, 16.6% reported suicidal thoughts in the past year, 13.5% had made a plan and 9.2% had attempted suicide.

As part of the analysis, researchers explored the link between suicide risk and past-year participation in organized sports — a protective factor that could be leveraged more broadly.

Key findings

• Suicide risk (rates of suicide ideation, planning and attempts) increased sharply among youth between 2007 and 2023.
• Sports participation dropped from 57.4% of high school students in 2019 to 49.1% in 2021 and has remained consistently lower than before the pandemic.
• This decline was exacerbated by increasing costs (which disproportionately affect students from low-income households), the COVID-19 pandemic and growing psychosocial challenges. These challenges — including depression, generalized and social anxiety and body image issues — often emerge around puberty and may prevent students from participating in organized sports.
• For high schoolers, the protective link between sports and mental health remained strong both before and after the pandemic.
• Among middle schoolers, the link between sports participation and reduced suicide risk was slightly weaker in 2023 than before the pandemic — a pattern that may reflect developmental differences. Psychosocial challenges tend to intensify with age, which could explain why this association is stronger in high school students, Mutumba noted.

The study is among the first to track these trends before, during and after the pandemic across nationally representative samples. Additionally, the study gives careful focus to middle schoolers. Despite rising suicide rates among younger kids, most large-scale studies have focused on older teens, leaving a major gap in research and prevention efforts, Mutumba said. Suicide is still widely viewed as a concern primarily for older teens.

Sports participation has numerous physical and mental health benefits, such as reduced depressive and anxiety symptoms, lower stress, enhanced general well-being and improved self-esteem, the researchers assert. 

The findings underscore sports as an accessible, scalable and sustainable public health strategy for suicide prevention, but indicate that taking full advantage of the power of sports may require new approaches. 

The authors call for greater investment in equitable access to sports opportunities — especially in communities where risk is highest. Adolescents in marginalized communities particularly have elevated odds of suicidal behavior and reduced access to mental health services. To help close these gaps, the report outlines concrete strategies such as subsidizing or fully covering fees for school and community-based programs, investing in local facilities (green spaces, basketball courts and baseball fields) and implementing sliding-scale fee models. These efforts are particularly important in middle school when early engagement in sports can build lasting habits and offer critical mental health protection.

The authors also advocate for incorporating evidence-based mental health programs into organized sports programs. This aligns with Mutumba’s ongoing efforts to develop scalable, community-embedded strategies that integrate mental health support into systems that serve adolescents.

“Sports offer more than physical activity,” Mutumba said. “They create structure, social connection and a sense of belonging that can help buffer the intense pressures that adolescents face today.”

PUSH Basketball Academy, founded by Dr. Phillips High’s state-championship-winning boys basketball coach Ben Witherspoon, is hosting a five-day youth camp at the high school’s gym from Monday, July 28 to Friday, Aug. 1. 

“Our camp will be a great experience for all ages,” Witherspoon said. “Our younger campers will focus on having fun while learning and practicing the fundamentals of the game. While the older players will get high-level skill work, competition, and learn about the mental side of teamwork and having a growth mindset.”

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. across the five days, campers will be taught these key skills and fundamentals by Witherspoon, a former Division I coach and player, and Daryl Majic Dorsey, who has played professional basketball for 20 years.

The camp is open to players from 6-17 years old and the registration fee is $200. Included in the cost will be a camp T-shirt and awards. Campers will need to provide their own lunch but drinks and snacks will be available for purchase. 

To register, visit Tinyurl.com/PUSHCAMP.

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