A new season of Thunderball Basketball tipped off on the weekend.
The Grade 4/5 Rookie league started its first session at Lake Trail Middle School, led by head coach Blake Tobacca and assisted by Lance Lloyd, Colton DeRycke, Son Pham, Bobbi Thomas, Cassie Ball, Aiyana Carter, Tracy Tran and Danelle Campbell.
Over 50 participants were led in various basic fundamentals drills and then all were put into six teams of eight or nine players. League play officially starts at Session #2 on April 15 and that's when the real fun and drama begins.
"Work on your new skills over Spring Break, Thunderballers, and be ready for Sunday the 15th," said coach Tobacca.
At the Grade 6/7 Boys and Girls site – the G.P. Vanier gymnasium – four boys teams began practice followed by four girls teams.
It was a meet-and-greet your new coaches day for the boys, and organizers thank all the coaches for volunteering their Sunday mornings for seven weeks. Thanks Mark McGinnis, Joss Biggins and Jaron Piercy (The Rage); Tony Edwards, Scott Stevens and Scott Theriault (The Fury); Cam Hughes and Jacob Stewart (Team Balance); and Dillon Robson, Mario Tancon and Katie Rodgers (The Swarm).
Swarm vs. Balance
It was a very good first week, and the coaches were very impressed with everyone's hard work. All had a great time. Coen Loepkey and Nicholas Knopp worked well together for the Balance and were quite effective, while The Swarm shot very well as a team and there were flashes of some great assists. Lucas Fanslay and Austin Rodgers scored some awesome baskets while Sam Dyer and Marco Tancon dropped in a few of their own. Good start, boys!
Rage vs. Fury
This was a close first game where some great defence was played by both teams and there were plenty of steals leading to numerous layups.Owen Kirk was very effective as an offensive player for The Fury while Liam Vandervoort played some stellar defence at the other end. He dove a number of times to save the ball.
Rheydon gobbled up many rebounds for his teammates. This one-point game was won by The Rage. Top players were Quinn Delorme and Luke McLaughlin; both played great defence and went to the hoop strong. The hero was Nick Correia who scored the winning basket.
The girls league has some dedicated coaches as well, and all were doing their best to motivate their new team members. Thanks coaches Kendra Lee and Olivia Rockwell (Lightning Quick); Laurissa Cebryk, Jade Heavener and Maazi Smithers (Supersonics); Kassandra Sewell and Faeryn Curtin (Fast Kats) and Amy Morro and Jessica Pitre (Sky Angels).
Supersonics vs. Quick
This was a great first-day game filled with plenty of potential stars. Emma Huebchen of the Quick finished very strong to the basket while Tylar Turnbull for the Sonics scored many layups, not missing too many.
This was a tough game and both teams had plenty of energy. All the players were great listeners and it looks like it is going to be a fun season. Coaches say, "Way to go girls, it was good to see you listened to the constructive criticism very well."
Fast Cats vs. Sky Angels
Lots of talent was displayed by these two teams, and again the potential is unlimited. Amanda Mondry did some crazy rebounding, showing plenty of intensity, while Katie Piell showed here awesome shot in the key – unstoppable! Kudos go to Jessica Hill as well for her offensive smarts.
Meanwhile, everyone hit some great shots for the Sky Angels where Chloe Speed stood out, spearheaded by her numerous steals. These girls showed that they have some experience behind them since many smart plays occurred on the floor, not usually seen on the first day.