For young boys big into basketball, a new skills development option is bouncing onto the local scene.
The Junior Timberwolves Elite Basketball Training Program will start later this month at the Northern Sport Centre. The program, for boys in the Grade 5-7 range, will be led by coaches Todd Jordan, Dave Holmes and John MacDonald.
"The kids at that age haven't been exposed to a lot of training and I think it's a good opportunity for us to take what they get in minor basketball but up the intensity a little bit for the kids that are maybe a little bit more serious about pursuing basketball into their high school careers," Jordan said. "Any time you can get kids at that age and get them engaged and [exposed to] a high level of coaching, that's really where you can plant a seed that can develop into a really good player."
Jordan is the head coach of the UNBC Northern Timberwolves men's basketball team and is also guiding the Under-16 provincial team this spring and summer. Earlier in his career, as a high school coach, he helped lead the 2006 Duchess Park Condors to a B.C. championship. Jordan has Level 3 credentials from the National Coaching Certification Program.
Holmes, also a Level 3 coach, has more than 21 years of experience at the high school and college level, while MacDonald has also worked in the high school and college ranks and is a coach in the Prince George Minor Basketball Association.
The registration fee is $200. Players can register at the front desk of the NSC or can e-mail Jordan at tjordan@unbc.ca for more information.
For their money, players will get a reversible jersey and 25 hours of instruction. Sessions will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., starting on April 26 and ending on June 2.
On the May long weekend, there will be no session on the 24th. Instead, it will be held on the 23rd from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Duchess Park secondary. On May 26, Duchess Park will also be the host venue because of UNBC convocation.
Jordan sees this year's program as a starting point. He already has plans for the future.
"Over the course of the next few years I'd like to possibly start adding more of these programs if we have some success with it," he said. "I'd eventually like to turn it into a program where we're developing kids that go on to play post-secondary basketball and end up hopefully playing at UNBC. That would be the long term goal, for sure."
