Shock novice boys grab hoops gold

  St. Thomas defeats Sarnia Valhalla in final at Ontario Cup provincials

Monday, April 9, 2018

   St. Thomas Shock, Under-10 Novice boys Division 11 winners, at the Ontario Cup provincial championships; from left, front row - Nolan Hicks, Liam Dlouhy, Demarco Maitland; middle row - Idrees Elsayed, Will Carron, Bryce Gallagher, Sonny Clarke, Ty Titchner, Aaron Dyke, Cam Renaud, Demarei Maitland, Matteo Thomas, Tyler Perrott; back row - coaches Jeff Renaud, Dave Boyce, Chris Carron, Bruce Thomas.  (photo / courtesy St. Thomas Shock)

By Rob J. Ross 

LONDON, ON -  They may be covered in ice packs and band-aids, but the St. Thomas Shock novice boys left the court wearing gold medals.

St. Thomas won the under-10 novice boys Division 11 title, at the Ontario Cup provincial basketball championships, held at South Secondary school, April 6-8, defeating Sarnia Valhalla, 22-12, in the final.

"What stood out about the boys' play this weekend was their unselfishness as well as their grit and determination," Shock coach Chris Carron said. "I'm sure all of them have ice on their knees and band-aids on their elbows.

"On any loose ball there were three or four Shock players who were diving on the floor to get after it. It was the type of play that would make the city proud." 

The win in the final, avenged a 32-18 loss to Valhalla, in the opening game of pool play.

"I think the difference between the round robin game and the final was our team defence," said Carron. "The kids really looked out for one another. I think Sarnia was taken back by our efforts. We held them to four points in the first half."

The Shock also defeated Burlington, 30-19 and Brantford, 37-16.

"Our team consists of grade twos, threes, and fours. During a time out, when the coaches asked the team why they thought we were doing so well, my favourite response was, 'because we are trying our hardest, having fun, and it doesn't really matter if we win or lose'," shared Carron. "That's the way it should be when you're dealing with 8-10 year olds. As coaches, we couldn't be more proud."

Demarei Maitland was named tournament MVP, leading the Shock in every stat category.

Novice is the youngest level in Ontario Cup competition.

"The most impressive thing about their growth as players was that they enjoyed practices as well as the games. You could see their interest in basketball growing," Carron said. "They wanted to learn and were willing to put in the hard work it takes to get better. Their individual skills got better with each practice and game. Once their skills improved they gained more comfort on the court. That is when the overall team efforts improved."

This month the Shock have 10 teams in provincial action this month, including two teams, Thunder and Lightning, at the novice girls' tournament, in London, March 23-25.

The Thunder lost in the division five bronze medal game, by one point, to the Barrie Royals, while the Lightning won the division four consolation game, edging Brantford CYO, 13-12.

At the major atom girls event at Newmarket, March 23-25, the Bolts were 2-2, in division six, while the Lightning finished 1-3, in division eight.