Siksika announces U of C-led basketball camps

By Lorenzo Gavilan Vargas Times Reporter

Siksika Parks and Recreation have teamed up with the University of Calgary Dinos basketball teams and the Siksika SN7 Program to host basketball clinics, both for young aspiring players and coaches. The camps will be held at the Siksika Deerfoot Sportsplex on July 27-29.

Jody LaBelle, coordinator of SN7, said the camps fit well in line with what SN7 is doing for Siksika youth.

“Basketball’s big in Blackfoot country, so we wanted to have a camp that would enhance the participation, draw kids out and just kind of jumpstart the youth activities in our area,” said LaBelle.

Leading the camps are members of the men’s and women’s Dinos teams, and also the assistant coach of the men’s team, Dan Pearson, who reached out to Siksika to make this possible, according to Siksika Health Services recreation team leader Richard Running Rabbit.

“This is actually his last year with the U of C Dinos, and he’s moving on to coach in England in a European basketball league out there,” he said. “So he’s a valuable resource that we’re going to take advantage of while he’s here, and he’s offered his services kindly.”

Pearson was assistant coach for the Dinos team that won the national championship in 2018 and recently accepted an offer from Reading Rockets in England where he is set to take up his role as head coach.

Not only are the Dinos instructing the camps, but they are also pledging to stay on the reserve and experience the “Siksika way of life.”

“They’re also going to be staying out here and we’re going to provide some teepee lodges for them for the duration of the camp,” said Running Rabbit. “That was their request. And of course, we offered to provide that if they were interested, which they were greatly interested in. They want to experience some of our ways in the land, just to get out and experience things out here.”

The young partnership between Siksika and the University of Calgary will also result in the Dinos’ practice jerseys featuring a special Blackfoot word.

According to Running Rabbit, the coaches of the Dinos were asking if there was a word in Blackfoot that meant ‘try hard,’ or ‘try your best.’

“We said yeah there is, its ‘ikakimot,’ and they said, ‘we like that, we’re going to put those on our practice jerseys.’”

To register for the camps, visit the Siksika Parks and Recreation Facebook page and scan the QR code included on the poster.