One of the coaches of the Cochrane Cobras basketball program is lending his expertise to help some of the best young players in the province shine on the national stage.
“We’ve been getting better and better,” said Randy Peron, assistant coach of the Team Alberta 15U boys provincial squad. “We’ve developed a really great family and we’re going to continue to grow prior to nationals.”
This year, University of Regina will host the Canada Basketball 15U national championships from July 24 to 29.
Peron – a longtime lover of hoops and head coach of the Cochrane High School senior girls varsity team – was hand-picked this spring to help lead the younger boys group into national competition.
As the tournament draws closer, Peron said this year’s squad reminds him of the boys who made up the team in 2005 and made it to the finals that year.
“This is a very special group in my opinion … the chemistry has been amazing,” said Peron. “We’re very quick, they can all shoot threes – and basketball is a game of threes. Our threes and our speed shots should be neutralizers.
“I feel this is one of the stronger U15 teams Alberta has had in a number of years.”
The teens have been practising in Edmonton and Calgary over the last month and will now travel to Phoenix, Arizona, for three exhibition games as a warm-up for the big show. From the U.S., Team Alberta will fly straight to Regina for nationals.
“It will give us a good indication of how we ... stand against American teams that are our age group,” he said.
Although the basketball schedule is busy, Peron said the team is still making time to form friendships off the court, as well – including a fun team-bonding event that took place recently at the Royal Canadian Air Force base in Cold Lake, Alberta.
“They got to sit in the jets and they got to experience that,” he said.
“It’s a special time.”
