A student at Salida High School is playing in Florida with Overtime Elite, one of the best high school leagues in the country. Kason Westphal, a high school senior who previously played for the Salida Spartans, got an offer to play for this league in the fall of 2024. He has just recently returned home from this league play.
At first Westphal rejected the offer to stay with his teammates and play in Salida, but later he noted, “something clicked in me and I was like, I need to take this opportunity to go play at the highest level.” Westphal knew he needed to play with opponents who challenged him to strive to do better. As the Salida winter progressed, Westphal reached out to the league and expressed renewed interest and off he went. The league paid for his food and travel to get him down there.
Westphal explained that the Overtime Elite league plays a total of 50 games against the eight other teams in the league with players like Westphal and other talented athletes from all around the United States. Players who play in this league get the exposure needed to play in college leagues and eventually the pros. This is because this league is watched much more closely by recruiters and coaches for colleges. For a long time it has been a goal of Westphal’s to play in college and beyond.
The programs that the Overtime Elite League facilitate provide the students not only with basketball practice but also daily needs and academic support. All the league players are provided with food and housing, and the daily routines build in time for school work and support.
A typical day for Westphal includes waking up at 9:00 AM and making breakfast for himself. Next students are required to do their schoolwork. Westphal is taking online classes through Salida High School and Colorado Mountain College so that he can stay on track for graduation this year from SHS.
After the morning routines are finished, the physical work for the day begins. Westphal goes to the gym for a session with a trainer for specialized workouts designed to assist him with his specific physical growth goals. He then finishes his work out lifting weights with the rest of his team mates. After the workouts and training sessions, there is practice and it usually lasts for three hours on the basketball court. The evening after dinner is then spent watching films of past games.
Westphal notes that, “everything is based around basketball.” He compared it to a college schedule in terms of classes and the focus on basketball. This program is designed to be the way to get into a college basketball program and SHS wishes Westphal all the best in achieving his basketball dreams.