INNISFAIL – The Bears of St. Marguerite are ready to take to the hoops and growl themselves to victory.
Last week young senior basketball players at St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School were hard at practice getting ready for the second annual St. Marguerite Growler Basketball Tournament scheduled for Friday, Feb. 10 and Saturday, Feb. 11.
On Feb. 1 after class, the senior boys were being groomed with court drills at the school gym for tournament play by principal Stefan Labrecque, Christian Damgaard, the school’s athletic director, and teacher Chelsea Wilson.
“Our senior teams play I think just six league games throughout the year, and in this tournament, they will get four; bing, bing, bing and bing. There’s not the separation of a week between games,” said Damgaard, “It’s all about getting reps and experience in a quick pulse. You just grow more.”
Damgaard said the tourney will feature 16 seniors’ teams, eight boys and eight girls – mostly from grades 8 and 9 - from across the region and from both the public and Catholic school systems.
“It’s more teams, right? It's more competition. It's better,” said Damgaard of the mix of schools from both school divisions. “And the kids are all going to know each other in high school. So yes, it's good.”
Senior middle school teams from both St. Marguerite and Innisfail Middle School will be represented. The out-of-town teams are coming from the Red Deer region, Eckville, Blackfalds and Sylvan Lake.
He said the St. Marguerite and Innisfail Middle School teams will be playing in their own gyms.
Damgaard said the tournament will be ideal for his senior teams, whose programs are both going through a transition process to become more competitive while still experiencing fun and camaraderie.
“There's not a whole lot of tournaments in the region that aren't either really high, like for players in Grade 9 in Red Deer or elite; way above what we could handle right now,” said Damgaard. “As soon as I put out the invitation it (tourney) filled up right away because everybody is looking for somewhere to play.”
He said the 11-member senior boys’ team has players from grades 7 and 8 but don’t have any from Grade 9 this year. They play in the Red Deer Middle School Basketball League, the first time the seniors have done so.
The 12-member girls squad play in the Chinook's Edge North Athletic Association's (CENAA).
He said both the boys and girls’ seniors’ teams are about half-way through their seasons with identical records of one win and two losses.
The junior teams have an exhibition schedule this year against public Red Deer teams that have squads with Grade 6 players.
“They (junior) both have a relatively robust schedule with five or six games,” said Damgaard. “It helps us build the program long term; getting players that have at least played some basketball this year for hopefully next year's senior teams.”
As for his senior teams who are looking ahead to the Growler tourney, he wants both to have a “positive experience.
“I would hope that they would get a win each. We tried to make the draw as even as we could,” said Damgaard. “I don't think we have any powerhouses, and we don't have any real weak teams coming in.
“I think it'd be a good balance on both the boys and the girls’ side, and it's going to be a lot of fun.”
And it is that “fun” component of play that could very well lead to the future success of both St. Marguerite senior teams, as well of the dedicated coaching both are receiving this year.
“We have some good coaches. Mr. Labrecque, our principal, is coaching the senior boys and he's a very experienced basketball coach,” said Damgaard. “They (players) have just been pumped about basketball culture and learning even how to walk into the gym and have confidence and just be a basketball player.”
