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.”

    The Drumheller Valley Secondary School (DVSS) Senior Boys Basketball team hosted their annual home tournament on Friday, January 12, and Saturday, January 13.
    The boys played their first game late Friday evening against the Bassano Broncos, starting strong with a win of 80 - 40.
    “After reviewing this weekend I’d say consistency in effort would be a big thing to work on and bringing the same level of Basketball to every opponent,” said Dynos coach Will Belliveau.
    The school hosted seven teams: Acme, Banff, Bassano, Didsbury, Rimbey, Sundre, and Three Hills. Three Hills and Banff faced off in the final with Three Hills coming out on top. The Dynos finished fourth overall.
    “Just about every game was a close game,” said Belliveau.         “I’d say we had a highly competitive weekend with all the teams that were there.”
    By Saturday afternoon, the Dynos battled the Banff Community High School, losing by 32 points with a score of 96 – 64.
    “Ah the Banff game… it was the second time facing them and was an amazing teacher for the kids. They’re a team that we should be able to be in a game with but for some reason aren’t,” explained Belliveau.
    As for their third and final game, Acme squeaked in the win by one point. In the final moments of the game, the score was 68 – 71 for Drumheller. Acme managed to score a three pointer in the last two seconds of the overtime period. The referee’s had to set the time to 0.4 seconds as a foul occurred just after the three pointer. The Dynos made a quick game plan to lob the ball at one of the point guards who would in theory tip the ball into the net, scoring the point to win. Their attempt however did not succeed, ultimately letting Acme win by one point.
    “The Acme game was great,” Belliveau continued. “It was a tough overtime loss but it showed what level we can perform at and what we are capable of. We have a few little things to learn from and then that game is a very different outcome.”
    Belliveau thinks ‘moving forward is looking very promising’ for the team.
    “I’d like to add that after every game the guys are getting better and starting to put a full game together.”