Lakehead Mens Basketball Team up With Blaze Basketball
THUNDER BAY, ON -
Lakehead Athletics is pleased to announce a new partnership between the Lakehead Men’s basketball
team and the Thunder Bay Blaze basketball club. The Thunderwolves and the Blaze have teamed up in order to provide local boys an opportunity to play basketball on a year round basis while receiving strong coaching and organization at all age levels.
The new partnership will see the Thunderwolves providing assistance in coaching and facilities to the
current Blaze youth programs that operate from September into the following spring. Lakehead Basketball and the Blaze have also worked together to introduce new programming for high school aged players that have progressed through the Blaze minor basketball system. Lakehead Head Coach Scott Morrison will also join the Blaze organizing committee and take a more active role in the general group planning and administration.
Coach Morrison believes the partnership is the first step in a joint effort to improve the opportunities for
players and general level of basketball in Thunder Bay.
“Over the past 3-4 years we have worked hard at Lakehead to improve the quality of our teaching and
programming in terms of youth basketball camps. Our interests have historically focused more on the
older age groups which is a result of our need to recruit and develop future players. The Blaze have a
great infrastructure in place for the younger ages and together we believe we can get more young kids
playing ball, learning the fundamentals and developing a love for the game at an early age. Not only will
this add value to basketball in the community but it will give local kids a chance to grow into potential
CIS players.”
Blaze coach and committee member, Pat Charlebois, is also thrilled about the prospects arising from the Lakehead partnership: “Teaming up with LU is a natural fit for us. The LU coaching staff and players bring a very high level of basketball expertise to our program. Our boys really enjoy inter-acting with and getting to know the varsity players. It gives each of them an opportunity to imagine themselves as an elite caliber player in a few years. It also gives the varsity players an opportunity to be involved in the community and to give something back to the sport they love. In order to insure the sustainability of Blaze, we need the involvement Coach Morrison and his players. Volunteer parent/coaches come and go along with their kids, but the LU varsity team will be around for years to come as the back-bone of this program. ”
The Thunder Bay Blaze have been in operation for 6 years and have had over 800 members since
inception. The club has developmental programs running during the majority of the school year and rep
teams for age groups competing in the spring and summer. The Lakehead men’s basketball team
competes in the OUA and CIS. They are coming off their best season in over 30 years, finishing the
2009-10 season as the #6 team in the Canada. The Thunderwolves open their 2010-11 Conference season on November 5th in Toronto.
For more information on the Thunder Bay Blaze, Lakehead Men’s Basketball or the new partnership, please contact Coach Scott Morrison at 346-7820 or scott.morrison@lakeheadu.ca.
Online, please visit www.tbblaze.com and http://lakeheadbasketball.
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