Trip to Victoria helps VK Basketball prepare for upcoming bballnationals

VK Basketball had a successful weekend at the Victoria tournament on the University of Victoria campus. The whole program showed up and performed well, and had a great time competing against the Jr. Vikes and other clubs that made the trip to Vancouver Island.

“As a whole, the weekend went really well,” said Jeremy Neufeld, who coaches the U12 teams at VK. “Our kids really look forward to these away trips and they get together really well. A lot of bonding off the court and on the court.”

The U17 team had two competitive games against the University of Victoria women’s team and a team consisting of UVic alumni. Although they lost both of these games, it was a good learning experience for the team on what it takes to compete at the next level.

The U15 team had a successful overall tournament, going undefeated over the weekend. It sets them up well for their EOT National Showcase on the July 5th weekend.

For the U14 VK team, they started with a competitive matchup against the U14 Jr. Vikes. They followed it up with convincing games against Comox and SVIBA. They’ll also be at the EOT National Showcase in Oregon City, Oregon with the U15 team.

Perhaps the best story was the U12 teams coached by Jeremy Neufeld. Both teams competed in higher divisions and age groups, with the first team finishing 2-1 and the second team finishing with a 1-2 record. They’ll be playing the rest of the club basketball season above their age group as well.

“Size was a factor,” said Neufeld on his two team’s games over the weekend. “But they competed hard. They rebounded, they boxed out, they left it all out on the floor.”

You can watch all the VK Basketball teams at Bballnationals starting July 28th. More info on the tournament and its impact on Canadian club basketball can be viewed on their website. Game highlights will be on the team’s YouTube page.

Written by: Nick Bondi