Senior Kyle Wassmuth has always dreamed of winning the Westlake Youth Basketball Association championship. The former freshman basketball player has been playing in the league since he in was first grade. He’s always loved basketball, despite never playing at the varsity level.

“I’ve strived to win the championship; it’s been a life-long goal of mine,” Kyle said. “I’ve always been a decent basketball player — football was always my first sport — but don’t get me wrong: I enjoy sweaty basketball.”

On March 1 that dream came true, as Kyle’s rec basketball team defeated a team that featured several St. Andrew’s varsity basketball players. Kyle finished as his team’s leading scorer with 16 points.

“Wassmuths always want to be the best at everything they do,” Kyle said.

Kyle’s team consisted of eight players, all Westlake High students. Every grade was represented. The makeup of the league was similar; it included teams made up of local high school students.
Senior Ryan Newburg was one of Kyle’s teammates. He’d also played high school basketball, as had seniors Jake Coker and Evan Jansen, both of whom were part of the team’s starting five.

“Getting back out on the court was amazing,” Ryan said. “I hadn’t picked up a ball in years, so getting back to what used to be my favorite sport was awesome. The whole season Kyle was riding us super hard, reminding us how this had always been his dream. I think he took it a little too seriously, but it was in a funny way.”

Kyle admits that that Ryan was probably correct.

“It’s possible I did take it too seriously,” Kyle said. “But that was my job. I had to be the leader on the team, and show young kids like [sophomore] Alex Delafuente how we do things. Being the best player on the team took a lot of work.”

Kyle plans to attend Southwestern next year.

“My next goal is to win an intramural championship,” Kyle said.