News & Notes
Calvin's Veldhouse takes Flight with IBL team
by Dean Holzwarth | The Grand Rapids Press
Wednesday April 15, 2009, 8:30 AM
Adam Bird | The Grand Rapids Press
Caleb Veldhouse was a four-year starter with Calvin College. The Grand Rapids Flight's home opener is Friday.GRAND RAPIDS -- Grand Rapids Flight coach David Fox was determined
to build a team with players who have high character and morals.
He did not want attitudes. He did not want troublemakers. He wanted
basketball players who could best represent the community and the
franchise's newfound mission.
Caleb Veldhouse epitomizes the individual Fox was looking for as he
joins the Flight after starring at Calvin College this past winter.
"Caleb is the type of kid that we want on this team," Fox said.
"He's on the straight and narrow, and he really wants to play and work
with kids.
"We really stressed that we didn't just want good players on the court, we wanted good people off the court as well."
Grand Rapids recently tipped off its fifth season as a member of the
International Basketball League. The Flight went 6-12 last season under
president/head coach David Fox, who returns for his third season at the
helm.
Fox now owns the team after acquiring it after last season. He then
donated it to a nonprofit organization, the Grand Rapids Junior Jammers
Youth Foundation.
All proceeds from the game will go to the foundation.
"I didn't have control over many things last year since our previous
owner was in Portland, Oregon," Fox said.
"As the owner, it allows me
to put my personal imprint on things, and we want to give back to the
community. "I'm doing this because I love working with kids and
coaching, and we want to provide role models that kids can interact
with."
Veldhouse, a four-year starter and four-time all-Michigan
Intercollegiate Athletic Association pick, is looking forward to
advancing his basketball career with the Flight.
"I'm definitely looking to further my career overseas, and this is a
great opportunity to keep playing in Grand Rapids against a high level
of players," said Veldhouse, who will graduate from Calvin in May.
"It was great to play at Calvin and the Calvin community, but now I
get to play for the Grand Rapids community and give back. It's more
meaningful when you're playing for a community, and that's important to
me."
Veldhouse, who will be joined by former Calvin teammate Derek Griffin, scored 21 points in a season-opening loss at Holland.
Grand Rapids (2-1) won its next two road games against USA Basketball.
"I'm very pleased with the great character of the team and the
coaches," Veldhouse said. "I really like this team, and we're pretty
athletic. We don't have a lot of size, but we're very feisty and
intense on the defensive side. We're going to have a good season."
Amid the economic downturn, the Flight has reduced ticket prices and has a new home venue at Davenport University.
Fox hopes to attract a loyal following with a team the community can admire.
"Even though the economy is putting a crunch on people, we feel like
we provide something families can do together without spending a lot of
money," Fox said.
Stevie Akridge (Union), Shane Thorson and Nate Ashcraft return from last season.