The Jr. NBA Youth Basketball Program is back in La Broquerie, and Leisure Services Program Lead Ian Dickey says the program is always growing, and they’re excited to have it in the community.
“So it’s a great program,” Dickey says proudly. “It’s been developed with both Canada Basketball and the NBA to develop kind of a love for the game of basketball and teach kids the fundamentals of the game in a fun and engaging way with lots of fun games, activities and drills. It’s about teaching the game and the fundamentals.”
Age range
When it comes to the ages of kids that can get involved, Dickey says they have a few levels as of right now. “So we have two age groups that we’re running. They’re both after-school programs, so we run after school on Mondays for ages 7 to 9. That runs after school, and then we run on Fridays for ages 10 to 13. That one runs after school until five o’clock. So that one’s a little bit longer.”
Open to everyone
A big part of the program is having kids interested get an opportunity to play and grow, so Dickey encourages all skill levels to come get involved. “We’re welcoming kids who don’t have any experience before. As I said, it’s a program that’s designed to teach the fundamentals of the game. So yeah, kids don’t have to have any experience before. If they have, then that’s great. We just kind of build on those skills that they already have. But if they’ve never played the game before, it’s a great program to kind of get into it and get introduced to the game in a fun and engaging way.”
Knocking on the door of a decade
It’s been a very strong run for the program, and Dickey says it’s hard to believe they are almost a decade old as it continues to grow. “Yeah, no, it’s been awesome to see how it’s grown over the years, and then we’ve been able to add, like I said, that extra age group. We started out with the 10 to 13 age group, and then being able to add an additional one, and it’s been great to see more kids getting involved in the game. There have been kids who’ve started getting involved in the game through the program and then have gone on to play on other teams and clubs and higher levels as well. So that’s been really cool to see.”
People behind the scenes
There are a lot of great people who make this all possible, according to Dickey, and he’s very proud to work with them. “For sure, it’s been great. We’ve had some great volunteers step up to help out with the program, and then also our leader services staff. So it definitely couldn’t be, wouldn’t be possible without them. Then also be able to partner with the school to be able to provide the gym space for us to use, it’s also been awesome. So again, we had a couple of years ago, we had a parent who stepped up to offer to help coach one of the age groups. So that, again, allowed us to expand to an additional age group, having the volunteers help out. So that’s been awesome.”
Open to all kids
Dickey says it doesn’t matter where the kids are from, all are welcome to come to La Broquerie and foster the love of basketball. “It’s great to see people coming in from multiple different communities. Getting to know each other and being able to again offer that here, out of La Broquerie, and be able to grow the game. We love that we can provide a space for kids to have fun, be healthy, and again, meet kids from other regions or other parts of the region as well. It’s really rewarding.”
The future
Looking down the road, Dickey says there are some things he would like to see. “Expanding age groups is always good,” he says proudly. “Being able to get more kids involved, and then it has been great to see even just in the areas that the game overall has grown. I know there’s a TBL, the Prairie Basketball League in Steinbach, that has really grown. We’ve had kids come through our program and then go on to play on teams and stuff there, too. So that’s been really great overall, just to see the games grow. Yeah, it’s been great.”
More information
Even though the program is currently running, Dickey says it’s not too late to get involved. “So we are actually starting this week. So this Friday, for the older age group. We do still have a bit of room, so kids can still register. The best place to go would be our website, Rural Municipality of La Broquerie – Home and just find our leisure services section there. Then you can register for the program there. So we do still accept registrations even up to a couple of weeks into the program. So if people are thinking about it or if they’ve just heard about it now, we’re still accepting registrations and are more than happy to accept more kids into the program. So we can go there. It’s only $100 for the program, and it’s eight weeks. Program once a week for each age group. Each of the kids gets a basketball, a jersey, a parent’s guide, and a water bottle. So it’s pretty cool that they get not only the participation in the program, but they get to go away with a basketball and a jersey that they can use even beyond the program as well.”