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Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Sweet and Sowers
Greater Reading, PA
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By: Michael J. Esterly , VYPE
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“Dad is always giving me tips on how to become a better basketball player, especially after games."
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The Sowers name should ring a bell to area high school hoops fans. Former Blazer basketball star Jeff M. Sowers had quite the career at Daniel Boone High School during the late 70’s. He helped guide the team to the 1975 county championship game against Wyomissing. In 1977 during his senior year, Jeff won the Section II scoring title and received All County Section II honors. Thirty years later, there’s another Daniel Boone senior on the basketball court carrying his father’s name and following in his footsteps. Jeff P. Sowers might reach a plateau his father just fell a bit short of – scoring 1,000 points.
What has it been like for these two stars, living under the same roof? “Dad is always giving me tips on how to become a better basketball player, especially after games. He likes to pinpoint what I did right and what I did wrong.” Jeff helped coach his son in elementary school and in youth league basketball, so he was involved in developing him as a player early on. Over the years the two have put in long hours practicing Monday nights at the local YMCA. Jeff Sr. likes to remind his son, “I still hold the family record of points scored in a game with 37.” Jeff Jr. has come close, draining 35 points against Hamburg on January 11, 2006. Jeff Sr. was quite the hustler on defense and currently holds the all-time record for steals in a season at Daniel Boone. He hopes he’s passed on some of that defensive prowess to his son. “Dad always taught me to look to steal the ball,” Jeff Jr. related. According to Dad, that hustling ethic hasn’t been lost on young Jeff. “I stopped playing ball with him when he reached 8th grade because I couldn’t keep up with him.”
Though their Daniel Boone jersey numbers are the same, 24 and 25 (home and away respectively), father and son do play a slightly different game. Dad explains, “We are different players. I was always a scrapper, using my speed to get steals, while he is more of a finesse player who likes to shoot. He is more of a complete basketball player than I was because of all he can do.”
Sowers Jr., a shooting guard, set his goal high, “A trip to the Sovereign Center for a crack at the county championship is something I want.” What about joining the 1,000-point club? “I take one game at a time. If I get it, I’ll be happy. If not, I don’t really mind.” This says a lot about this young man who cares more about the team’s success than his own individual stats.
Jeff Jr. is only about 300 points shy of cracking the 1,000 points club and will most likely accomplish this feat barring any setbacks. As for Dad, “It’s such a great feeling watching him grow as a person and a player.” Then he adds with a smile, “He may score 1,000 points by the end of his career, but hopefully, he’ll let me hold on to the family single-game record.”
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