Heartland Basketball Shootout provides new way for teams to compete during summer

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS) - Jeremy Brinkmeyer was hired as the new Notre Dame boy’s basketball head coach in May, but his previous stop at Kelly taught him an important lesson.

Getting your team together for competition during the summer is not an easy task.

“At a small school we had kids that play multiple sports, which is great, but a lot of guys were gone for the weekends so we couldn’t play in any of the (basketball) shootouts,” Brinkmeyer said. “I was like well we need to play, so we’ll just put on our own.”

The first Heartland Basketball Shootout started on Tuesday on the Cape Girardeau Sportsplex. With the majority of summer sports events requiring weekend travel, the two-day Shootout is being held mid-week to allow athletes with competing schedules a better chance to attend.

Teams from Missouri and Illinois made the trip to play.

“It’s been a mixture of a lot of good teams and a lot of good basketball,” said Brinkmeyer.

The Shootout continues on Wednesday.

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