Athletes From Eagle High Play for River Walk Elite in a Church Basketball League
River Walk Elite, also known as RWE, is basketball team full of athletes from Eagle High. The team participates in a basketball league that is run through the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. There are multiple other teams in this league with athletes from Eagle High such as sophomore Ozzie Faulk, junior Aaron Howell and many more. River Walk Elite is currently undefeated, and they plan to stay that way. Last year, they won the championship in their basketball league.
RWE has had few struggles this season. They have won many of their games by 20 or more points, and it does not look like that is going to change any time soon. They are the last undefeated team standing.
“I think our team’s best strength is shooting threes. It feels like we hardly miss,” said junior Gavin Crawford.
One of RWE weaknesses is their size as they lack in height. They make up for that weakness by shooting lights out, week after week from the three-point line.
RWE takes care of business on the court, but they make sure to have fun with it. For each game, the players and coach come to the game in their pre-game outfits. They wear stylish outfits just like the professional athletes do. They also have fun with their pregame preparation.
“We roll up to the church in our pregame attire. We then meet in our locker room and get ready for the game. We walk out together and hit the court to go warm up. After warmups, right before the game, I gather the team in our locker room and give a pregame speech. Then, it’s game time and we go take care of business,” said coach and Eagle High alumnus Cody Long.
RWE members take a lot of pride in the way they dress, on and off the court. On the court, all of the players wear NBA jerseys of some of their favorite players such as Stephen Curry, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Some people might think that a basketball league ran through a church might be for people who do not take basketball seriously. However, that is not the way that RWE plays.
“I love everything about RWE. I love the players and the emotion that is involved in each game,” said sophomore Stephen Egan.
Another way that RWE has fun with this basketball league is keeping their fans updated through social media like Instagram. Long is the owner of the Instagram page and posts weekly. The Instagram handle is @rwe_hoops_offical.
“Go follow the Instagram to stay posted on everything going on with the team. Being able to run the social media has been great, and it’s a great way to earn recognition for our team. It also opens the door for some cool highlight edits,” Long said.
RWE has high expectations for the rest of this season. They expect to finish this year with another championship, just like last year. RWE is full of high-level athletes. They may not be on the varsity basketball team for Eagle High, but the players participate in varsity football, baseball, rugby and track.
“I think it would be interesting to play the varsity basketball team. I think we could put up a good fight,” Crawford said.
If one ever has nothing to do on a Thursday night in February, go and support some fellow Eagle High students at the LDS church on Park Lane, down the street from Eagle High.
“I think it’s extremely important that we have supporters, such as the Eagle High student body, come out to our games. My guys play the best when they know all eyes are on them,” Long said.
