Burns Lake will soon get a Junior NBA Youth Basketball (JNYB) program, developed by Canada Basketball and the NBA. Garrett Shaw, president of Burns Lake Basketball, a non-profit started by him, Naomi Hanson and Scott Zayac, said that the JNYB is a basketball skill and development program for kids ages 5+.
“In coaching basketball at LDSS and travelling to other communities, I noticed a similar program Vanderhoof has and how it helped foster improvement in basketball for their older players and wanted the same for our community,” said Shaw. “Second reason for starting the program is because I have two young kids and their involvement in the Youth Soccer program opened my eyes to the benefits and high interest in those sorts of programs for kids. It just so happened one soccer board member, Naomi Hanson, works with me at the high school. She was very intrigued by the program from the start and one thing led to another, and here we are.”
Early on, a Facebook group was started for the program and the response according to Shaw has been very positive. Shaw has also been working with the village office and Lewis Jones who has been very supportive of this program.
Registration for the program will happen through the village office.
“There is still some wiggle room with some of the logistics we’re working through, but the program will run from late October to mid-December. The exact dates will be finalized shortly,” he said, who is a math/science teacher at LDSS and will be a coach within the program.
The program will cost $65 per athlete. In addition to the 7–8-week program itself, athletes get an age-appropriate Spalding basketball, a reversible Jr. NBA jersey, a poster, a certificate of participation, a parents guide to the program, membership to Canada Basketball and Basketball BC and more.
“And while it looks like there is a high degree of interest, we will most likely have to cap registration based on how many volunteer coaches we have. To be a coach for our Jr NBA program, Burns Lake Basketball will pay the $60 coach fee, which gets you a fox 40 whistle, an Underarmour coach shirt, SafeSport and Jr NBA coaches training, access to the Jr NBA drill bank and lesson plans, liability insurance, and a free background check,” said Shaw.
To reach the program organizers, people can email burnslakebasketball@gmail.com or contact them through their Facebook group Burns Lake Basketball which also has more details on the program and other initiatives.