The Montezuma-Cortez High School gymnasium and auxiliary gym were packed last Friday and Saturday for the first ever Montezuma Storm youth basketball tournament.
The Montezuma Storm, an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) program, was first started by Todd Plewe in 2014, and it has been growing since.
It originally began with just two teams: a sixth grade girls team and seventh grade boys team. But the program now includes sixth, seventh and eighth grade girls teams and fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth grade boys teams.
Last weekend was the first tournament hosted by the storm, and Plewe, who headed up the organization of the event, said that putting on a tournament with 21 teams was a total group effort.
He noted that he and his wife Monica, Diana Buza, Dusty and Tiffany Veach, Chris and Nicky Crowley and Bobby Sitton – among others – began planning as early as last November.
The biggest upside of hosting was that the Montezuma Storm teams wouldn’t have to travel, but they also planned to use the proceeds to benefit their club and the high school basketball program.
With 21 teams from southwest Colorado and bordering states, and over 700 players and spectators attending, the tournament raised an estimated $7000 in gross.
“For a first time event, I am so pleased with the support,” said organizer Diana Buza. “Not only from the community, but from all the parents, grandparents and families that attended.”
The Storm will pay officials and operating costs, but with the net profits they plan to purchase new equipment, provide scholarships for players and donate to the high school basketball program.
The Kiwanis Club also made a $500 scholarship donation to the Storm, which will be used to pay for entry fees and tournament costs for players.
Plewe noted the importance of the scholarships, saying that the Storm wants any interested students to have the opportunity to play.
“We’ve even had kids that are just learning that just come out to practice and not participate in tournaments,” he said. “We’re an all-inclusive group.”
The Storm also plans to donate money to the M-CHS basketball programs as a thank you for all of the support high school administrators have offered since the club’s inception.
“The Montezuma-Cortez High School has been extremely supportive of what we have done for the last three years: Providing us gym time for practices and also providing the facility for the tournament,” Plewe said. “Mr. Wayman and Stacey Hall have been extremely supportive of what we’ve been doing.”
M-CHS principal Dr. Jason Wayman also coaches a Storm team. He began coaching his son’s team two years ago and has plans to travel to tournaments this summer.
The first Montezuma Storm-hosted tournament was a success in more ways than one, as the Storm’s fifth grade boys, sixth grade boys and eighth grade girls all won their divisions.
Ignacio took home first in the seventh grade girls division and Kirtland was the eighth grade boys winner.
Most of the Montezuma Storm teams play the same schedule, and they will play in the Ignacio tournament this weekend. The season typically runs from January through April, and after last weekend, the Storm is looking forward to next spring, when it plans to host its second annual tournament.