The Drumheller Valley U17 Club Basketball team is mid-way through its spring season and is playing well.
The team, coached by Al Molzan, participated in a Vision Basketball Academy tournament in Calgary on May 3 and 4.
The U17’s first game was against the Rockyview Rebels from Calgary, which was a highly skilled team with a deep bench that pressed the whole game. Drumheller was down early, but after the jitters wore off, they realized that they could play with them. They managed to make a game of it, although they fell 87 to 41.
This put Drumheller on the B-side against the Calgary Youth Development Centre (CYDC) Panthers, also from Calgary. This was an early game on Saturday, but the team came ready to play. Drumheller led by as much as 15, and although the Panthers closed to within three points with two minutes left, Drumheller managed to win 67 to 61.
This put Drumheller in the consolation final against another big team from CYDC. The U17s came out hard and led for the first half, but the CYDC press wore them down. The Calgary team had 15 players, and to Drumheller’s eight and injury and foul trouble took its toll and Drumheller ended up losing 71 to 88.
“For our first tournament playing together, the team played really well - we just need to realize that we can play against kids from bigger schools and hold our own,” said coach Molzan. “Ideally we would like to have ten players, so that we can make two even lines and roll them, that way we can rest and keep up the fast pace that the city club teams play. “
Those interested in learning more or joining the squad can call Molzan at 403-820-6544 for more details. The Drumheller team practice Sunday evenings from 7-9, and will be playing in two more tournaments. On May 31 – June 1 they are heading to a tournament/basketball camp in Edmonton, which will also have modules on nutrition, training, and skills.
Their last tournament is June 14-15, also in Edmonton.
The Drumheller Valley Basketball U17 team won consolation at a tournament in Calgary last weekend. They are (back; l-r) Brian Flater (Asst. Coach), Josh Thomson, Justin Molzan, Logan Pratt and Al Molzan (Coach), along with (front; l-r) Matt Thomas, Travis Molzan, Zach Flater, Adam Shymanski, and Talon Marshall.
