Adding to the list of organized sports offered in Sylvan Lake and area, the Sylvan Lake Clippers allow youths the opportunity to hone skills and feed potential passion for basketball. The organization offers leagues for students from grades six to 12.
“We are most excited to see basketball come alive in our community. We have known for many years that there is a love for basketball among our youth but they haven’t always had the opportunity to show their passion. This club aims to give our children the chance to follow something they are passionate about or maybe find a new love for the game,” said program founder Matthew Kennedy.
Given the challenges resulting from the pandemic, while the organization was established in 2020, the inaugural season had to be postponed until spring of this year. The biggest hurdle was to safely gain access to gymnasiums, said Kennedy.
“It has been quite frustrating. We tried multiple times to get started but were running into many roadblocks beyond our control.”
Currently, the program is entirely funded from registration fees, with hopes to find some sponsors through the summer to assist with future seasons.
The Clippers aim to run a fall and spring season each year. The fall season for U13/U15/U18 would run from September to November and for younger ages from September to February. The spring season will run from April to June for all ages.
Registrations for Spring 2022 close March 20. Due to limited funds available for the inaugural season, equipment will be ordered on the basis of the number of registrations received.
“In future years we hope to give significantly more time for people to register and to also have extra equipment for those that may register a bit late.”
Practices will take place once a week at H.J. Cody High School with one game or scrimmage per week in Red Deer.
“As we look to grow our program, in future seasons we will rely heavily on our community support when it comes to coaching,” said Kennedy. “We try our best to bring basketball to this great community,” he added.
The organization encourages anybody interested in coaching basketball to reach out at slclippers@gmail.com.