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After-school program aims to improve alley-oops

Two North Shore youth basketball coaches argue that airballs and alley-oops should be part of a kids physical vocabulary starting at five years old.
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Two North Shore youth basketball coaches argue that airballs and alley-oops should be part of a kids physical vocabulary starting at five years old. 

Mark Curtin grew up with the sport and says it taught him discipline, teamwork, and other “good life lessons on and off the court.” 

Curtin, a Saint Thomas Aquinas alumus, went on to play basketball for Langara and Capilano colleges, saying those experiences offered more positive rewards.

He travelled around North America with his teammates and made some solid friendships.

But as Curtin attests, he wouldn’t have gotten that far without mentors along the way and from an early age.

He cites two specific basketball coaches from STA who influenced him: Malcolm Reid and Rob Ros.

“They just taught me a lot about life on and off the court,” recalls Curtin.

When it came time for Curtin’s own kids to pick up the sport five years ago, they found themselves on the sidelines.

Curtin noted there were no community programs that offered age-specific, after-school basketball programs.

With the ball now in his court, Curtin decided to take a shot.

In 2013, he started 3PointBasketball, an after-school skills program for kindergarten to Grade 3 students at Cove Cliff Elementary in Deep Cove.

There were 86 Cove Cliff families registered in two days.

“It was overwhelming,” says Curtin, who quickly realized and responded to demand for a primary school basketball program, which has since expanded to 10 North Shore schools and close to 400 participants.

It’s a win-win, as Curtin points out: parents get after-school care and at the same time their kids are learning a sport.

The kids take to the court an hour a week for 10 weeks in the spring, under the instruction of basketball coaches in the community who have excelled at the sport.

Kindergarten and Grade 1 students are grouped together for one session, while students in grades 2 and 3 are taught on another day.

The budding basketball players learn basic elements and concepts of the game such as dribbling, passing, shooting, and the triple threat, explains Ransford Brempong, director of operation for the program.

“From the younger ages we are just trying to teach as much as we can about physical literacy. Letting them understand what it takes to be an athlete. How do you run? How do you jump?” says Brempong, who played professional basketball at the NCAA level and for the Canadian national team.

The lessons evolve each week until all the basketball basics are incorporated and the kids are ready to put it into practice for some three-on-three scrimmage.

With the younger players the coaches might play Simon Says or Tic Tac Toe Basketball, to just get their hands on the ball.

“With these young kids, we want them just to love the game,” says Brempong, adding the emphasis is on fun.

Sustained by a circle of mentorship, 3PointBasketball sees Curtin and Brempong guiding upcoming coaches – either in their senior year of high school or in university – who in turn act as mentors for the primary school players.

One of those coaches is Sage Stobbart, who helped the Seycove Seyhawks senior girls team soar to its first B.C. title in team history this spring.

Stobbart, who was named tournament MVP and top defensive player, has trained with the national junior program and is committed to play for NCAA Div. 1 school UC Davis next year.

The student coaches are also eligible for 3PointBasketball’s scholarship program, which awards three coaches $500 per year.

For the 2018 season, 3PointBasketball is linking up with Jumpstart, which will make the basketball program accessible to youth from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

New for September is a fall team program at the North Shore Winter Club for kids in grades 2 to 7, with a focus on skill development and three-on-three sessions.

Registration started this week and is done through the club ahead of the Sept. 19 start date.

At its core, Curtin and Brempong’s game plan is simple.

“To have kids fall in the love with the game as we did,” says Curtin.

More information is available at 3pointbasketball.com.