The Cyclones will be shooing hoops in the U.S. next winter. For the first time, the École Innisfail Jr./Sr. High School senior boys and girls basketball teams are planning a trip to San Diego to play in an international high school basketball tournament during the Christmas break.
“Seeing the competition level and seeing what's out there is a great experience,” said Kent Lorenz, high school teacher and senior boys coach.
He said students heard about the tournament, put on through Basketball Travellers, an organization with more than 25 years of planning international basketball competitions, at a development camp last year.
Since then, parents and coaches have been organizing trip details and flights and started organizing fundraisers for the trip which will cost approximately $1,300 per student.
The teams are guaranteed three tournament games which will be hosted at University City, Scripps Ranch and Mission Bay High Schools. The participating schools will be divided into three skill levels to accommodate different levels between the teams. Lorenz expects the school will be in the lowest bracket because of its size and because of the high level of play in the U.S.
Besides the chance to experience play with different teams and levels of competition, Lorenz also said it's a great chance for the students to travel together as a team.
“We have eight returning veterans to the boys team so this is their last year together, so accumulating all that with the trip will be really neat,” he said. So far enough students have signed up for the trip which should see about 12 players for each team.
Currently, the students are fundraising with a meat sale. They have also planned two bottle drives and a car wash over the summer and expect to plan more events in the fall.
