In their quest to advance their basketball skills, two local athletes have been selected by Team Alberta to play in for the U14 team in three upcoming tournaments in Canada this summer, as well as a large National Tournament in Las Vegas.
Dustin Dubrule and Timi Akindele of Racette Junior High School tried out for Team Alberta in Red Deer on March 24 and 25, and they were both selected to join the team. Both boys are very excited to reap all of the benefits that the experience will provide for them.
“It’s going to be a really good experience. I’m ready to open my mind to watch and learn from all of the other players, which are some of the best players of our age group,” said Akindele, expressing his eagerness to play with a team full of “Very skilled players with lots of experience playing with higher level teams such as club basketball.”
Both boys have previously only played basketball for the Racette Raiders, which had a dominant year this year sweeping the St. Paul Athletics Association league and winning the banner in March.
Timi and Dustin both have always had an interest in basketball, but Timi says that at first his passion was actually soccer.
“I always wanted to be the best in the world at soccer, until I saw basketball. Ever since, it has been my favorite sport.”
Dustin however, has always expressed an interest in basketball.
“It’s been one of my favorite sports since I was at a very young age. It’s going to be great to be able to go out and play the sport abroad with and against all of those really skilled players.”
The boys have already practiced with their new team, travelling to Red Deer to take part in the team’s first practice together this past weekend, and Dustin says he’s excited to see what he and Timi can do on team as skilled as this one.
“From what we’ve saw, there are a lot of really good players on the team. They’ve been playing club basketball and they have experience playing at a higher level than us so it’ll help us learn more about the game,” says Dustin.
“We have to thank Stephanie and Joy Tremblay for coaching us and instilling all of the fundamentals of the game in us. They’ve been really good coaches to us and they are a big reason why we were able to make this team,” says Timi, attributing the coaching systems to the Racette Raiders’ success and Dustin and Timi’s success in making Team Alberta.
The boys now have trips around Canada to look forward to, and will eventually head to Las Vegas during their summer break this year. The young athletes will look to advance their skills and represent St. Paul with pride.
