Youth basketball registration is now open

Registration for Tillsonburg Youth Basketball is now open online. The program lasts 12 weeks and costs $120, which includes a T-shirt and basketball. (Contributed Photo).

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

Registration for youth basketball is now open.

Basketball Tillsonburg runs programs for youth covering the ages from Grade 1 to Grade 8. The program is broken down into ages based on the school grade the participant is in. Grades 1 to 4 are held at Annandale School on Sunday afternoons, with Grade 1 and 2 taking to the court from 1 to 2:15 p.m., and Grade 3 and 4 from 2:30 to 3:45 p.m. Grades 5 to 8 will be at Glendale High School from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. for Grades 5 and 6, with the 7s and 8s to follow.

Basketball Tillsonburg president Jesse Goossens said basic skills are introduced for Grades 1 and 2, such as dribbling, passing and some shooting. Lower nets are used for the younger age groups to teach shooting. The drills are designed specifically for the age groups, with different skills emphasized at each and the complexity increasing with age.

“They’re drills, but a lot of them are games to make it fun,” said Basketball Tillsonburg secretary Victoria Sergeant.

“We’ve taken a lot of time to develop the program and make it interesting,” Goossens said.

And with the cost for all participants at $120, it costs less than many other winter sports. Included in the cost is a team T-shirt, a basketball and 12 weeks of playing.

“It’s just an affordable sport when you compare it to alternative winter sports,” Goossens said.

There are other advantages to playing basketball, with Goossens explaining participants learn self-confidence and how to be part of a team, skills that can be valuable throughout life.

“It’s more than just basketball skills,” he said, adding what is learned can assist in job interviews, for instance.

Goossens, Sergeant and league vice-president Lance MacKenzie have completed coaching training with the Ontario Basketball Association, which Basketball Tillsonburg is associated with.

“We’re building a system here to build basketball here in town,” Goossens said.

The organizers are hoping to find a parent interested in getting OBA teams going again in town. Basketball Tillsonburg had OBA teams, which play at tournaments at a higher level, in the past, but these faded away as the players aged out and there were no new coaches to sustain them.

“Ideally, it would be great to get some parents fired up and get an OBA program,” Goossens said.

“Tillsonburg has such a rich history of basketball from the Livvies (which represented Canada at the Olympics twice) to teams that competed at OFSSA,” Sergeant said.

The youth basketball program, both house league and at the OBA level, helps prepare players for high school basketball.

The three principals behind Tillsonburg Basketball all are a part of that heritage. Both Sergeant and Goossens, who are husband and wife, have fathers who played for teams that made it to OFSAA. MacKenzie’s father was a principal who coached high school teams. All three played in Tillsonburg youth basketball, which was started by Mike Bossy, Dan Rajnovich and others about 35 years ago.

Referring to basketball as a life-long sports, Goossens said many former OBA players participate in the adult men’s and ladies’ programs offered by Basketball Tillsonburg. Many of the coaches of the youth program are graduates of it as well.

Registration for youth basketball is open until Sept. 21 and can be done online at basketballtillsonburg.com.