Basketball academy endeavours to fill niche

trevor.kenney — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:26:16 +0000

For Dave Adams, coach of the Pronghorns men's basketball team, there's no great mystery as to how he will get the Horns back in the national spotlight. It starts and ends by filling his roster with talented southern Alberta players – and to do that, the Horns must take a leadership role in the development of those kids.

"The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns have the responsibility of being the flagship program for basketball in southern Alberta, and we take that commitment extremely seriously," says Adams.

To that end, Adams and the Horns are ironing out the details for the Pronghorn Basketball Academy – a weekly training opportunity designed to fill what has become a missing link in the development of basketball players in southern Alberta. Gone from the local area are the Basketball Canada Centres for Performance and the Basketball Alberta Regional Training Centres, leaving talented, competitive young basketball players in need of the proper coaching and guidance at a critical stage in their development.

"We think this will really fill a need in the community right now," says Adams, who expects to target kids in Grades 5 to 7. "We still need to talk with the schools and do a little research but from what we understand, once kids hit Grade 8 and 9, there are good opportunities for them to play, it's that upper elementary, early middle-school age where they need some further coaching and an opportunity to play at a competitive level."

Adams need look no further than the Horns Athletic Department for an example of hitting a kid at the right stage of his development.

"Ryan Hall's (Pronghorn Athletics Manager) a prime example of a guy I distinctly remember torturing in a Grade 6 basketball camp," laughs Adams. "You could tell at the time he was a great, coachable kid who had tons of skill. Although he took a path that was an unusual one, playing his way through baseball first, he ended up being the starting point guard on a team that went to a national semifinal."

Hall had other interests and pursued a baseball scholarship in the United States, but he eventually came back to basketball, something that may not have happened had he not been nurtured in the game at an early age.

The proposed academy would begin in January and feature weekly workouts, likely on Monday or Tuesday evenings, and would be run by Adams and his Pronghorns players. The net effect is twofold, the Horns help groom future players and connect with the community at the same time.

"This is a way for them to give back to the sport, and it's a huge part of our commitment to engaging with our community," says Adams. "If we want to have fans come to our games and we really want to have people in southern Alberta support us, then we have to make sure it's a two-way street."

Should the academy prove to be successful, not only will it help the game and the region's aspiring players, it'll benefit the Horns down the road.

"If we look historically at the success of Pronghorns men's basketball, in times where we've had national prominence, it was built on the basis of good local players who decided to stay here and play for the Horns," says Adams. "We're trying to develop the future basketball star who will put on the blue and white some day."

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ values draw Hall back to his roots

trevor.kenney — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:31:29 +0000

Much has changed at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge since Ryan Hall (BA '00) ran the basketball court with the likes of Spencer Holt and Danny Balderson.

The concrete dungeon they called a home court is gone, replaced by the 1st Choice Savings Centre for Sport and Wellness. The small, liberal arts school once known primarily for producing teachers has grown into a comprehensive university that initiates cutting-edge research from every corner of campus.

What has stayed the same is what drew Hall back to assume the position of Pronghorn athletics manager.

"You see the changes in the facilities and how the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has grown up in so many areas, but the values have stayed the same," says Hall, now a father of four. "It's amazing how many people I recognize from when I was an undergraduate here and who have stayed on as staff because it is such a great atmosphere."

A Claresholm, Alta., native, Hall spent the past four years in Greely, Colorado, earning a master's degree in sports management and working on his PhD. Fully expecting to remain in the United States, the U of L opportunity was too good to let pass.

"Lethbridge was really the only place in Canada where we'd come back to," he says.

Hall didn't initially pursue a career in sports management; rather he worked four years in Calgary as a rehabilitation therapist. His goal, however, was always to gravitate back to sport. It was a path he discovered through a course taught by then U of L professor Dr. Gary Bowie.

"It opened something up that I had never realized. I didn't know programs such as sport management existed," Hall says. "Health care was a good experience, I learned a lot and there were some good transferable skills, but it wasn't anything I was really passionate about and wanted to do for the rest of my life."

While completing his master's at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Northern Colorado (what he calls the other UNC), Hall cut his sport management teeth in a NCAA Division 1 environment. Despite the fact UNC is a new player at the Div. 1 level, it still presented Hall the opportunity to see big-time post-secondary athletics and the difference between the American and Canadian models is startling.

"It's big business down there, almost to an extreme. I think they somewhat lose sight of the student part of the student-athlete. I think they try but with the business approach they take, it's all about generating revenues," says Hall.
"We do a better job of prioritizing the fact our athletes are students, first and foremost."

Still, he recognizes that Canadian athletics can learn from its southern neighbours, especially when it comes to engaging supporters and creating passion for their teams, whether it is the student body, alumni or community as a whole.

"I hope at some point we can get a little more of that, and often times it comes from the people who live in the community. The community gets on board and supports the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ as both fans and donors," he says.
"I also hope to create an atmosphere where we have our alumni excited about athletics and see them wearing it on their sleeves a little bit more."

He experienced that atmosphere, having played on the 2000 Pronghorns men's basketball team that hosted the Canada West final against ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta. They were the last really significant men's games played on campus and the series energized the entire area.

"In the end, you still have to be competitive and build momentum with winning teams, and I think that will come," says Hall.

GET THE FACTS

• Prior to coming to the U of L to study kinesiology and play basketball, Hall spent two years playing baseball at Cochise College in Arizona.

• He met his wife Terra (Dudley) while at the U of L. She played basketball for Lethbridge College. They have four children, Tevin (11), Abbie (9), Emily (6) and Brynna (23 months), with a fifth on the way.

• Hall describes ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Northern Colorado and the town of Greely as a parallel to the
U of L and Lethbridge. "The school focused on business, nursing and education, with about 10,000 students in an agricultural community of 85,000."

UNews - Pronghorn Athletics Manager

Basketball academy endeavours to fill niche

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