Encouraging future basketball players

Times Reporter

 

Strathmore has a new basketball program in town, this one aimed at promoting an interest of the sport at a younger age. 

Grade 5 and 6 students from Westmount, Wheatland and Brentwood Elementary schools were learning some of the basic skills of the games March 14-15. 

For three weeks, the kids will work on their skills and then in the fourth week, just before Easter, there will be a mini tournament held at Strathmore High School. 

“It’s not a club program, it’s not where we’re going to take kids and go on with them as a team or anything from this, this year. It’s just we want to make it accessible to all the kids who are in any school and hopefully that’ll translate into more kids playing,” said Kyle Larson, one of the coaches and organizers. 

Larson helped coach at Crowther Memorial Junior High with the girls this year. Larson said he, Scott Koller and Matt Laslo had talked a lot about bringing in a program like that over this past basketball season. 

“It was kind of a team effort. The three of us were kind of talking at zones, and a few weekends before that and we just said ‘you know we haven’t really organized anything,’ ” said Larson.

“I said ‘why don’t we just try to throw something together this year and get it going, and just try to generate some interest at a younger level.’ Hopefully that will translate a little bit into a little more for the junior high right away.

“The first night was really good. It’s just fun going back and coaching fundamentals and being with the little guys, we’re used to being with the high school. It was fun, it was fun to work with the young kids for sure.”

Larson said the four-week program will be offered again to the kids next year.