A great opportunity for local hoopsters

When the Valley East Basketball Association formed some five years ago, it had as a major part of its mandate to tprovide the best possible basketball experience for as many players as possible.

The VEBA executive has done its very best since, and has pretty much succeeded in making basketball a year-round sport. VEBA has entered teams in the Metro Basketball Association, organized summer tournaments and coordinated trips to camps and tournaments in Maine.

On two occasions, VEBA has provided an opportunity for local youngsters to represent the Valley at the International Children’s Games, once in the U.S. and once in Taiwan.

VEBA kids have travelled to tournaments throughout the Maritimes and as far away as Hawaii (and could have gone to England, except they went to Hawaii instead).

This summer was pretty typical in terms of basketball opportunities for VEBA players, but the association seems to have outdone itself.

In late June, a pair of VEBA teams – approximately 20 players – travelled to Maine for a now annual summer tradition: participation in the Maine Gold Rush camps and tournament. This week, two more teams are making the same trip.

In between, two VEBA teams plus the Valley Selects, a group of older, mostly former Horton players; have hosted three summer tournaments, two of which featured the provincial U-17 boys’ team in what had to be a win-win situation for both sides.

Whatever way you cut it, that’s close to a solid month of high-calibre basketball, which can only help the on-going skills development of the VEBA players - both in terms of a team atmosphere and when they return to their respective schools in September.

I don’t know exactly what VEBA’s registration costs are, but I would have to think these youngsters – including, for the first time, a girls’ team – are really getting their money’s worth.

Many people who aren’t as familiar with VEBA as they should be probably think the association exists solely for the benefit of youth in the Horton High catchment area: a fairly easy assumption to make, what with Tim Kendrick serving as VEBA president and an executive heavily weighted with Horton people. It’s true: many of the players currently attend Horton or one of its feeder schools.

At the same time, the VEBA rosters for the three recent tournaments also included NKEC (Travis and Garrett Pearson, Wes Gerritts, Jeff Zwicker), Central Kings (Dustin Poirier, Shawndell Sampson, Jalen Sabean), West Kings (Garrett Bangsboll) and even Middleton (Adam MacNeil) players; as well as those from Horton and its feeder schools. As well, an entire team of mostly C.K. players competed in the most recent tournament.

No doubt all of the players benefitted from the experience, a benefit that should become evident when they suit up for their respective schools this fall.

Yes, Horton is likely to benefit – and I’m not naïve enough to think that isn’t the idea – but so, hopefully, will as many as four other schools, as well as the provincial U-17 program. That, to me, is fulfilling your mandate in a big way.