From the grassroots up

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This article was published 28/09/2022 (1268 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG

Founded in 1997, the Winnipeg Minor Basketball Association provides a structured basketball league for kids in Winnipeg that is open for all. Now, 25 years in, the WMBA supports over 200 teams and offers six leagues, spanning all age groups.

But it’s not just players who get an opportunity to make memories while developing their skills at the grassroots level in the WMBA — it’s coaches and officials, as well.

“There were more youth coaching opportunities,” said Adam Wedlake, executive director of Basketball Manitoba. “The WMBA started that demand.”

Jon Giesbrecht was bitten by the basketball bug as a youngster watching the movie Space Jam.

“That was it,” Giesbrecht recalled with a laugh. “My friend down the street had a Fisher Price net, and we’d try to re-enact those scenes.”

Giesbrecht eventually got involved with the WMBA at his local community centre, Kirkfield West, before going on to play high school ball at John Taylor Collegiate. But where the WMBA really made an impact on him was when he was a Grade 9 student and got the opportunity to coach his younger brother’s team.

“My brother and I are close,” Giesbrecht said. “Coaching was another way to experience the game. It always seemed cool.”

Giesbrecht kept pursuing opportunities to coach after graduating from high school, landing assistant coaching gigs at both the University of Manitoba and University of Winnipeg.

“It is tough sometimes, difficult to find a job. So many people want to do it,” said Giesbrecht, who has taken his talents on the road, offering coaching and consulting to teams as far afield as Italy, focusing on strategic planning and helping players integrate mindfulness into their training.

“I wouldn’t be coaching if I didn’t get the opportunity to do so in the WMBA,” Giesbrecht said, adding that Basketball Manitoba has also been supportive along the way. “That gave me the opportunity to have the support I needed to grow. It has shaped my life.”

Nicholas Lother also got his start as a player in the WMBA. He played ball in university and professionally in Canada, before transitioning to coaching. Today, he runs Evolve Basketball Development, a program that provides academic support to elite student athletes.

“(The WMBA) is an essential part of the sport’s success in our city and province,” Lother said. “Without community based programs, we’ll fall behind. Manitoba is not as populated on a national level as other provinces. The WMBA (has) done that for a lot of youth in our city. I always tell young coaches to hop onto any opportunity you can. You only get better at coaching by coaching, and you become more of an asset to your community.”

Reffing youth sports may not be the most glamorous job. But it’s an essential one. As a local “up-and-coming official,” Reid Kenyon was among the folks who got a call from WMBA founding member Mike Ruta in the fall of 1997.

“(He) called me on a Wednesday night and asked if was willing to be the referee assignor for the WMBA,”recalled Kenyon, who has officiated basketball games internationally. “He goes, ‘We have 20 games Saturday.’ I said, ‘Holy macaroni!’”

In order to satisfy the demand for officials, the WMBA and Basketball Manitoba had to create a junior referee system from scratch.

“It has changed what refereeing looks like for basketball in Manitoba completely for the good,” Kenyon, who became the organization’s supervisor of officials, said. “We had to recruit younger officials to referee those younger kids. We developed training. Now, if there’s a new referee they go through a complete eight-hour clinic, they’re assigned a mentor to coach them on the sidelines for their first three assignments. That was all created, 100 per cent, because of the need for it from the WMBA.”

About 100 or so junior officials currently work with the WMBA, Kenyon said. He estimates that, of the approximately 200 senior basketball officials in Manitoba, 70 per cent got their start reffing WMBA games.

“It’s not the most attractive profession or sideline out there,” Kenyon admits. “I’ve had kids come into a gym and be overwhelmed with all this yelling and screaming, and they’re saying ‘Screw this, I’m going to flip burgers at McDonald’s.’ But if we get the right young person – say a Grade 12 athlete who has played at a competitive level, moving on to adult life, not necessarily playing post-secondary basketball, but loves basketball – involved, what better job is there?”

And, of course, there needs to be some place for kids to play.

“Twenty-five years ago, if a community centre had a ‘gym,’ it was a social hall with maybe a basketball hoop nailed to a wall,” Wedlake said. “We’ve seen so many now being rebuilt or redeveloped as basketball facilities. We can’t take all the credit, but the demand has forced community centres to invest in those facilities.”

“I’ve watched as basketball has expanded in the community,” Ruta said. “There are different groups setting up all over the place, and the community is demanding different, specific aspects of the game. We’re trying to adapt to that.”

Not only have community centres across the city invested in indoor basketball space and equipment, a number of outdoor courts have also been built in the last 20 years, including top-of-the-line facilities at Dakota, Garden City, and East St. Paul. Along with support from the city, province, and federal governments, the WMBA started its own foundation in order to raise funds for these improvements.

“That allowed us to build six outdoor courts throughout the city,” Ruta said, adding that a $5 per child fee each season goes into the improvement fund, as well. “We continue to bring that money on board, using that money to maintain those courts in perpetuity. Fencing or benches that need repair, things like that. I’m really pleased about that.”

Still, it can be difficult to find room for everyone.

“Our challenge is getting gym time. COVID hasn’t helped. But it’s always been like that,” Ruta admitted. The next step for the WMBA Foundation, Ruta added, is exploring the option to build its own facilities. “That’s something we’ll seriously have to look at.”

“Gym time and getting and retaining female athletes are our two biggest challenges,” said WMBA executive director Sean Close. “Our numbers (of female athletes) have been dropping every years since I’ve been ED. I know there is some grant money out there this year, so one of our main focuses is to apply for those grants and come up with programming as soon as possible.”

“It’s super-important for girls, getting that early awareness,” said Alyssa Cox, coach of the University of Winnipeg Wesmen women’s basketball team. “Early contact maybe at the junior high or elementary level would be super-helpful.”

Throughout the course of the WMBA’s 25 year history, volunteers have made the whole operation happen.

“If you have 300 teams, coaches, convenors, you’re looking at thousands and thousands of volunteers,” Ruta said. “I’m just one cog in the wheel. There are tons of volunteers who have put a lot of energy into making this a success. It’s the volunteers who make this thing work. It’s the collective.”

“People ask me why I still do this?” noted Brent Amos, the longtime basketball convenor at Dakota Community Centre, who has been recognized by the federal government for his contributions to the community over the years. “It’s because it’s my way of giving back.”

For more information on the WMBA, visit wmba.ca