THUNDER BAY --- Jon Kreiner says it was pretty clear how anxious and eager kids were to get back on the basketball court.
Kreiner, the coach of Lakehead University’s women’s basketball team, along with some of his players and youth volunteers, last week helped usher in the return to play, hosting a series of basketball camps for young athletes from three to teenagers.
The basketball camps were just one of a series of camps offered at the Thunder Bay school, and though the wait was painful to get back to action, Kreiner said it was almost like the pandemic never happened once the kids rushed into the gymnasium at the C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse early Monday morning.
“It was really exciting just to see the energy level,” Kreiner said. “There was a higher energy level all week long and even our players said this was a fast week.
“We had to run four separate cohorts all day long, but even myself I felt I had a lot more energy and just seeing the kids and their smiles and the enjoyment on their faces, just being in here in the gym – you could tell when all the cohorts filled up really quickly that all the kids really wanted to be here. It was a really good week of camp.”
For Tiffany Reynolds, a returning guard with the Thunderwolves, it was a chance to give back to a sport she’s loved for most of her life.
It’s really special to see how much progress is made in just three short days.
“I’m so excited to be back. I love coming to camp. I’m sad it’s only a week. They grow so much in one week. The first day it’s so hard just to dribble and by the last day they know all the rules and they’re doing all the drills,” said Reynolds, who graduated, but decided to return for two more seasons with the Wolves.
“They love coming to camps too.”
It’s a learning experience for the players and volunteers, Kreiner said. He puts together the initial lesson plan, then lets the camp coaches take things from there.
Kreiner added it was pretty special to have some of his former players, like Kylilie Daniar , bring their kids to the camp this year. It just shows how much basketball has grown in Thunder Bay in the past 20 years.
“They said when they first started there was nothing. There was nothing for them to do. Every now and then maybe a community centre would open up something. Having these kids in here, interacting with one another – obviously there’s games and skills being learned, which feeds itself into the next level – but what try to do here is just get the kids hooked on basketball, try to get them excited about basketball so they continue that process,” Kreiner said.
“I think basketball is a lifelong sort of thing – although my wife doesn’t let me play a whole lot now with all my injuries.”
Kreiner said he hopes to open up more camps later in the summer and in September, noting those on the current waiting list will get first crack at slots.
