The Drumheller Valley Secondary School (DVSS) Junior B Boys Basketball team consisting of mostly rookies is making waves this season.
The team is made up of 10 grade seven students and two grade eight students.
“Only two players have ever played any organized basketball before, so it is all new for them, and I am very impressed how quickly they have picked up on what our focus is this year, and how eager they all are to learn to get better,” said head coach Jeff Messom in an email.
The team has been undefeated in league play, winning by double figures each time.
They still continue to battle it out at tournaments, accepting the challenge.
“The one tournament we went to before Christmas in Calgary, we went 0 – 3, but lost all close games to teams that were mainly made up of Grade 8’s,” continued Messom.
Their next tournament is on Friday, January 19, and Saturday, January 20 at the Red Deer Lake School in south Calgary.
“This tournament will be a good test for us to see how much we have improved from the last time we were in a tournament in Calgary,” he said.
Messom is impressed by how the team controls the situation, keeping up with the pace of the sport.
“Currently, the best thing our team does is pushing the ball up the court and playing uptempo basketball,” said Messom.
Lack of height seems to be the largest disadvantage. Messom believes that this is just the age level and will change as they grow throughout the next five to six years.
“... but what we lack in height, we make up for in hustle and a no quit attitude,” said Messom.
The team has an emphasised goal on running the floor, spacing the floor, and player movements.
“We have kept everything pretty simple, but as they understand more and more of the game of Basketball, we can add concepts. Our goal is looking six years down the road when these kids are in Grade 12. We are trying to build a strong foundation that we can continue to build on every year.”
