Salem hoops team tips off season with epic ‘Rock Madness’ event
Salem basketball players faced off against Rock cheerleaders in a relay race as part of the inaugural Rock Madness event Nov. 21.
A thrilling race for the last seat in a game of basketball musical chairs, an entertaining relay race featuring Salem basketball players vs. cheerleaders and — last, but not least — a dramatic entrance and speech from Head Coach Rod Wells were just a few of the smiles-inducing elements of the inaugural Rock Madness event held Nov. 21 in Salem’s gymnasium.
“(Salem assistant coach) Evan Paputa shared the idea with me and I agreed because we want to bring some excitement to Salem’s girls basketball program,” said Wells, who ignited the night of fun by emerging into the gym decked out in a white warm-up suit decorated with holiday lights.
“It turned out to be a cool event. We want more fans coming out to our games — not just parents — so we started to put it all together a couple of weeks before. We had a lot of young kids show up, which is good because we wanted to show them how much fun it can be to be a part of our program.
“We’ll definitely be doing this again next year and for years to come. We want to make it a fun tradition.”
Great way to start season
Rock Madness was inspired, in part, by Midnight Madness events hosted by collegiate basketball programs. For instance, Michigan State’s men’s and women’s basketball teams hold a pre-season event each year in which their coaches make dramatic entrances.
“I thought it was a blast,” said Lainey Claremunt, a sophomore guard on Salem’s varsity roster. “It is a great way to get people out and see how much fun basketball can be here at Salem.”
In addition to the above-listed activities, there was a three-point shooting contest, a kids candy shoot and an amazing rendition of the National Anthem performed by sisters Aleena and Anaya Jafry.
The night was capped by scrimmages featuring the Rocks’ freshmen, junior varsity and varsity squads.
Wells’ costume was epic
Wells said he had fun picking out a costume with his daughters.
“It came down to a Zorro-type outfit, a Rock star costume and the one we ultimately chose,” he said. “Now that it’s over, I’ll probably re-purpose the lights I used in my outfit for my Christmas tree.”
The event featured several give-aways for attendees.
“Meijer and Kroger really stepped up by donating gift cards for us to give away,” Wells said.
Winners all around
Junior Julia Steinhebel won the three-point shooting contest, sinking at least 60% of her long-range shots.
The biggest winner of the night, however, was the Salem girls basketball program, which proved that some out-of-the-box thinking can go a long way to add some energy to an already robust program.
To check out a video of highlights from the first Rock Madness, click here.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
