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Junior NBA wraps up 2021-22 season in Yellowknife

It鈥檚 often said that if you don鈥檛 have a grassroots program in your sport, you won鈥檛 have a future for your sport.
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Coach Damien Healy works on a dribbling drill with one of the players in the 6-8 age category during the final session of Junior NBA at St. Joe鈥檚 Gymnasium on April 10. James McCarthy/黑料吃瓜网 photo

It鈥檚 often said that if you don鈥檛 have a grassroots program in your sport, you won鈥檛 have a future for your sport.

Basketball NWT has one such program and the latest edition of it wrapped up for 2021-22 last weekend.

Junior NBA in Yellowknife is all over for another season with the final sessions at St. Joe鈥檚 Gymnasium on April 10. It was a chance for the young players to show their parents what they鈥檝e been learning over the course of the season and have some fun playing against their parents.

Damien Healy, who helped coach the youngest group 鈥 six to eight-year-olds 鈥 said programs resembling Junior NBA have been going on in Yellowknife for some time but just under different names.

鈥淚t started as B and B Youth Hoops, then it became Steve Nash Youth Hoops but Canada Basketball renamed it Junior NBA,鈥 he said. 鈥淛unior NBA has been around in Yellowknife for a few years now.鈥

In addition to the youngest division, there鈥檚 the eight and nine-year-old group and the 10-12 age category, the oldest of the three. According to Basketball NWT, 65 players signed up to play across all three divisions this season and everyone who did sign up received their very own basketball and a jersey with a NBA team logo of some sort on the front.

Each category also has its own curriculum with age-appropriate skills and drills.

鈥淭he curriculum for it all comes from Canada Basketball,鈥 said Healy. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lesson plan with themes and suggested cheers for each week for the kids to do and diagrams for the coaches so they can teach everything properly and make it easy for the kids to understand.鈥

The most important job for the coaches, Healy added, is to keep it fun.

鈥淔un and interaction is so important because it keeps the kids coming back every week,鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou want to make sure the kids are having a good time and that they鈥檙e engaged.鈥

As part of the final sessions, parents were given the chance to be a part of the action and Healy said it was a chance for the players to teach the bigger kids.

鈥淲atching some of the parents, you could tell some haven鈥檛 played in a long time and there were some who really got into it,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e played a bit of five-on-five and for the younger kids, that was the first chance for them to see what that was all about because we鈥檙e usually practising.鈥

Junior NBA typically starts in the fall and goes until early spring but things were pushed back a bit due to the Covid-19 outbreak experienced earlier this year.

Healy, who鈥檚 also president of Basketball NWT, said the interruption didn鈥檛 have an adverse effect on the proceedings.

鈥淓veryone came back after the break and we made sure we did everything under the (Chief Public Health Officer鈥檚) regulations,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e had to make sure everyone everyone鈥檚 vaccinations were up to date and the parents weren鈥檛 able to come and watch right away but having them there for the last day was good. You could tell the kids enjoyed having them there.鈥

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Lynda Healy throws up a shot as her son, Conall Healy, watches hopefully during the final session of Junior NBA at St. Joe鈥檚 Gymnasium on April 10. James McCarthy/黑料吃瓜网 photo


About the Author: James McCarthy

I'm the managing editor with 黑料吃瓜网 and have been so since 2022.
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