SARATOGA SPRINGS — Since the publication of “Moneyball” in 2003, sports analytics are most often associated with baseball. But there are plenty of ways advanced technology and statistics can be applied to virtually any sport, especially basketball.

In Saratoga Springs, a new basketball facility called The Shot Spot has five shooting bays with Dr. Dish machines that can track shots by location and provide players with the data necessary to improve their game. The shooting machines have a corresponding app that allows players to log all of their training sessions and practices. The app then creates a visualization of where shooters are making (or missing) most of their shots. 

Although this type of technology might be commonplace in the NBA, it can be hard to come by for the average player. Hence, the creation of The Shot Spot, which opened just a couple months ago.

“I had seen this concept online, nowhere near here, and thought it would be something that would be beneficial to our area as it’s something that doesn’t exist much in general but especially around here,” said Shot Spot co-owner Scott Kindl. “A lot of people don’t even know that shooting machines exist, let alone use one.”

Kindl and his wife, co-owner Kelley Kindl, didn’t just acquire some shooting machines for their new business. They built the basketball courts that are now used for training, coaching sessions, and casual shoot-arounds. Kindl said the process took about six months.

“We had to cut the concrete floor, dig down to be able to install five basketball hoops properly, and then after that we put it in the flooring,” Kindle said. “I definitely had to spend a good amount of time researching stuff.”

The freshly built facility is now the third local business owned by the Kindls, Saratoga natives who also launched Trendsetters Barbershop and Sadie’s Hair Bar. Much like a salon or barbershop, the Shot Spot welcomes customers of all ages. 

“I don’t want people to think that we’re only here for advanced or elite basketball players,” Kindl said. “We want this place to be for everybody…you can come here on a date night if you want.”

Indeed, few things in life are more romantic than a perfect swish from beyond the arc.

The Shot Spot, located at 30 Gick Rd. (aka 40 Plaza Rd) Suite 115, offers both shooting bays and half courts for reservation. Pickleball courts, birthday parties, and basketball clinics are also available. For more information, visit www.theshotspot518.com.

by Drew Ziehnert

As a full time fishing guide on Lake George, I always used to be intrigued by the question of “whether we catch the same fish multiple times a year” because we are on the water fishing with clients every day from April to October. Based on the time of year, we fish dozens of different areas, but there are times when we are fishing the same structure and same spots almost every day. Although the everyday angler cannot track or tag individual fish without a permit, the Department of Environmental Conservation and other science research groups are able to conduct fish tagging and clipping programs throughout the year to monitor our fish populations. Lake George is 32 miles long and is filled with thousands of fish so it does seem far-fetched that we would catch the same fish more than once a year, but this year with a tremendous amount of luck, I unexpectedly got our answer.

Just like how every snowflake has a different pattern, it is the same for every fish. Many different species of fish look similar, but can develop different scale patterns, spots, and old injuries that never fully heal and make them stand out. For most fishermen, one of the best parts of landing a fish is that we can observe their beautiful coloration and get a quick picture before releasing them back into the water. Over the last few seasons, I’ve taken thousands of pictures of our clients holding fish, but never went back and looked to see if any looked the same. Some anglers try to piece together photos by looking at a fish’s mouth, the fins, and other external features, but it is still an educated guess. 

Fish Hatcheries throughout the state raise fish yearly, mainly trout and salmon, to stock our inland lakes and streams. At times they will conduct studies where they will remove or clip certain fins, typically the bottom ones or adipose fins, as a way to tell different strains and different generations of fish apart. This can give the fish an identity that fishermen can take note of when they catch them and can then report them to the hatcheries or the Department of Environmental Conservation. The studies sadly don’t typically monitor specific fish, so even with the removal of external fins you can never be sure if you are catching the same fish or multiple fish that were part of the same stocking group. 

So, with this information on how New York State is tracking their fish, it seemed like it was going to be almost impossible to get an exact answer, but this summer we finally did, thanks to some incredible fishermen on my boat. On June 26th, 2024, I was fishing with the Malanowski family on Lake George, when Nancy caught a Largemouth Bass with something metal attached to its bottom lip. It almost looked like this fish had a lip piercing and upon further inspection it was some type of fish tag. Based on what I now know about the NYS tagging program, this metal tag was out of the ordinary. On the tag there was an inscription that read Mctaging@gmail.com and had the number 257 on it. So, Nancy and I took down the length, which was 17” and the weight which was 2.54lbs. After a few photos we quickly released the fish back into the water. Later that evening, I sent a message with the fish’s information to the email and waited for a response. It didn’t take long to hear back and I quickly realized that this was not an authorized tagging, but was instead done out of curiosity by a private individual. We emailed back and forth until the point was made that without proper permits and permission you cannot tag fish for personal research, especially an invasive mouth tag. Then on August 1st, 2024, in the exact same spot, I couldn’t believe my eyes when the Girvin family caught the same bass yet again. Tyler and I measured the bass and to our surprise it was a hair over 17” long and weighed 2.68lbs this time. So the fish was about the same length, but weighed .14lb more than when we caught it a month before. We again quickly got a few pictures and then released this fish back into the water. 

Not only did this answer the question of whether we can catch the same fish more than once in the same year, but it sheds light on the importance of catch and release. If you release these fish and handle them properly, they will be available for you and others to catch again. If you do happen to catch this now famous Largemouth Bass on Lake George, we have now been told to remove his tag this upcoming season.

 If you do happen to catch a tagged fish, you can send the information to your local hatchery (Warrensburg Fish Hatchery for Saratoga County or contact DEC Fisheries).

Drew Ziehnert

Ziehnert Guide Service LLC

Ziehnertguideservice@gmail.com

DFW, Bureau of Fisheries

625 Broadway

Albany, NY 12233

fwfish@dec.ny.gov

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Racers of the American Basketball Association (ABA) hit the road last month after beginning their inaugural season with three straight home games played at Saratoga Central Catholic.

The team avenged a home loss earlier in the season by defeating the Herkimer Originals 124-114 on December 1. Three weeks prior, the Originals topped the Racers 140-120.

Coach Bob Catherwood credited the Racer’s second half defense as a key to the victory.

“They have a tremendous shooter in [Josh] Gregory. He didn’t miss. But we found him in the second half and played much better defense,” Catherwood said in a team press release. “I scouted them in-person last weekend and watched other teams on film against them and decided I was going to go zone and it worked very well. It was a good move for us. The guys played it well.”

Tobias Holmes led Saratoga with 25 points. RJ Rosa added a season-high 22 points including a 5 for 7 effort from behind the arc. Big man Shaheem Sanders contributed a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds.

With the victory, Saratoga improved to 4-2 on the season.

The Racers will be back at home this Saturday, December 7 when they host the Connecticut Surge at 7 p.m. at Saratoga Central Catholic. All Spa Catholic students will be admitted free to the game with a paying adult.

Racers Nationally Ranked for First Time

Last month, the Racers were nationally ranked for the first time in team history in the ABA’s weekly Power Rankings. Saratoga earned the No. 24 spot out of 150 teams for the week of November 18. 

“Teams try for years to crack the ABA Power Rankings,” said Racers owner Keith Harrington. “We did it in just our fourth game of existence.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Central Catholic boys basketball team vanquished  reigning Class D State Champions North Warren Central 68-50 to win the annual Mike Beson Memorial Tournament last week. 

Senior Tyler Hicks led all Saints scorers with a whopping 30 points, while Jasyn Thompson added 11. Ryan Gillis and David Redgrave each contributed 6 points apiece. For his efforts, Hicks was named the tournament MVP while Thompson made the all-tournament team.

In addition to beating North Warren on November 30, Spa Catholic also walloped Loudonville Christian 51-28 the previous day. In that game, Redgrave led Saratoga scorers with 12 points while Thompson chipped in 11.

The Saints will next take on Berne-Knox-Westerlo at home on Sunday, December 8 at 3:30 p.m. Then they’ll hit the road for a Tuesday, December 10 game at Hoosic Valley.