little queens
TOP LEFT : Christina Levine , left , is the director of the Little Queens program . Cathy Marx , right , is head coach of the Clinton High School River Queens basketball team . Jenna Blount / Clinton Magazine
TOP RIGHT : Scott Levine , left , coaches a Little Queens team . Submitted photo
BOTTOM LEFT : Little Queens team members run out onto the court as Clinton River Queens team members look on . Submitted photo
Scott and Christina married in 2008 and , just a few weeks later , they packed up and moved to Clinton from southwest Iowa . Four years ago , they found the Little Queens feeder program for Clinton High School ’ s River Queens , already a year into its existence .
No Little Kings counterpart exists as of yet , but the Little Queens were then composed of two teams of 15 girls total , ranging from third to sixth grade . Even with this program in place , the Clinton River Queens was in need of players . Observing this , Christina Levine says , “ I kinda had a vision for something bigger .”
Christina took on the role of director for the program , coordinating practices and games , ordering jerseys , handling registration , marketing and so much more . She worked to increase enrollment in the program during COVID while other programs failed and ceased to exist .
She made the decision to change the program ’ s structure as well , turning the two teams of 15 girls into one or two teams belonging to each grade so there wasn ’ t as big of an age gap between any players on the same team .
10 Clinton Magazine Summer 2022