The Coaches of the AGBU’s
Mini Boys, Bantam Boys and Bantam Girls
Basketball Teams would like to congratulate all the athletes who
participated in the Les Patriotes tournament that was held in
Saint-Hyacinthe on the weekend of December 9 and 10, 2006).
We would also like to thank all the parents
that were present to encourage our teams. The role of the parents in this
tournament has been much more than that of cheering for our teams. Your help
in assisting the coaches in getting close to 40 kids to compete in this fun
tournament is much appreciated by the coaches. Your help in the areas such
as transportation, supervision, assistant coaching and most of all the
positive encouragement made the week end a memorable one for each and every
one of the participants and for this, we, the coaches, are very grateful for
your support.
All our athletes have demonstrated great team
spirit and competitiveness in what has been their first ever official
tournament involving multiple teams.
The setting involved our two Mini Boys teams
to play 4 games with official referees and official rules for their category
as well as the official setting of 8’ high baskets to shoot on. This first
experience of a tournament proved to be very instructive and developmental
as the kids learned new facets of competitiveness and were able to see and
comprehend the structure and importance that other teams have implemented in
their training. Our Mini team was able to finish the first half of their
last game with a 12 point lead.
The tournament held similar values to our
Bantam Girls team. Although relatively new in their program, the girls, much
to the surprise of many, have upheld a very strong team spirit. Coming to
the tournament they knew they would face teams of much greater strength and
experience however they also knew that this would be an opportunity for them
to see where they stand in their development as a team. Although they were
skeptical at times, they accepted the challenge knowing that it would be of
their best interest. This positive attitude proved to be an awarding
strategy for our girls’ team. Although they had to face the strongest team
in their first game, the coaches and the parents were very happy to see that
the girls were able to adapt to the nature of a fast paced game. Knowing
that there is much more to learn and to improve on, the girls demonstrated
wonderful sportsmanship and were able to hold their defensive work solid,
improving from one game to the other. They played 4 games in the two days of
the tournament and with each one the performance was getting better and
better. While we were able to score more we were also able to minimize the
opponents’ attacks on our basket. In between their games, our girls were
constantly and loudly cheering on our Bantam and Mini Boys teams. Their
cheers could be heard from all three courts. Congratulations to all the
girls on their hard work and dedication. There will be much to see from this
group in the near future.
The Bantam Boys team, with 3 games into the
season, came into the tournament with only one practice since their last
game, facing two games on Saturday and one on Sunday. The boys were able to
show great team spirit and put in a lot of hard work in these fast paced
games. On their first game, the team was able to match the abilities of
their opponent for the first three quarters. In the third quarter, the team
started facing some foul trouble which led to our opponent taking the lead
on and carry the game. Nevertheless, it was a great beginning to a great
tournament. Having lost their first game, our Bantam Boys team had to play
their second game in the afternoon. With what proved to be a great effort by
everybody on the team, our boys closed the first half with a lead.
Unfortunately, we faced some foul trouble and were not able to uphold the
lead. When the time came for our third game on Sunday morning, our boys were
ready to play ball again, only to realize that the opposing team was not
showing up. Although we won that game by forfeit (another indication of the
very strong dedication that our boys have), the coach then arranged another
game against one of the finalists of the tournament who was to play the
final game in the afternoon. Having won all their games, this new opponent
seemed like a good challenge to take on and our boys with their hearts of
Goliath accepted this challenge. With a great improvement in their style and
teamwork our team gave the finalists a good and challenging game. With the
score seesawing in the first half, our boys dropped the game with only a
deficit of 14 points to this experienced team.
Once again the coaching staff greatly
appreciates all the contributions by the parents and congratulates all the
athletes that showed great sportsmanship, teamwork, and the dedication that
they have to their team, the AGBU Montreal Basketball Team.
We encourage everyone to come and support us
at our upcoming games, the schedule can be viewed on our website.
The Coaching Staff
