Winkler Minor Basketball wrapped up another year and Executive Director Wes Ens couldn't be happier or prouder of how it all went.
"There are a number of positives that we can celebrate looking back on," Ens says with a smile. "Excellent player development we had this year. You see the kids coming out that first week and you can kind of see who has been accustomed to the game before, at least compared to the ones that don't play the game every day. By the end of the season, it was really hard to differentiate between the so-called elites in the program from those that just picked up a basketball and getting accustomed to it. The reason for that is, we were very intentional in harnessing the best coaches that Manitoba has to offer. These are provincial championship level coaches that were at our disposal this year and it showed in how the kids developed their game in all aspects. From shooting, dribbling, passing but even beyond the fundamentals, teaching spatial awareness on the court and how to be a better option for your teammates."
Taking those big developmental steps is a two-way street, says Ens, it's about the high level coaching meeting dedicated, passionate athletes. "The players were certainly engaged this year. If I was to measure the success of the program based off the number of smile I saw this year, we were exceptional. The kids really did enjoy, right from the beginning, doing the drills and then getting paired off to teams throughout the season, they were so happy. So many high fives, lots of cheering and celebrating. They embraced the game so well and you could see the love on their face."
Ens says on top of what's already been mentioned, there were three more major takeaways from the year. "Coach development was huge for us, we have head coaches but we also have recruited some high school players and the head coach was instrumental in really developing our coaches, not just our players. The future looks really bright for the development of our program, but also anything these players go out and touch sports related, they've had a lot of mentorship that is going to shine through. Next, the value. It's $75 for the season, works out to a couple bucks for the evening, I don't know what else you give you that level of satisfaction while developing a skillset and having so much fun, it's a wonderful value. Lastly, we had a wonderful volunteer base. Really demonstrated community building in the sport that they love. That's something that resonates with a lot of other sports in the community, which is why Winkler is a hotbed for a lot of different opportunities. We inherited Winkler Minor Basketball around 30 years ago from an initiative started by John Klassen, and throughout the generations here, we've had people step up and lend their skill set and desire to give back to their community in the way of sport. We're not the full developers of the program, we just took what was working well and we molded it to what we had at our disposal. I'm very proud of our year and I think the club is a great position going forward."
At it's core, Winkler Minor Basketball is all about community, something Ens is so proud of. "I can't say enough about the volunteers. I mean, we pay the coaches a nominal fee, but they are worth so much more then what we are able to contribute to them. The community has fully embraced what we're doing. The program would not be as healthy like it is without the school divisions. Garden Valley stepped up and gave us an additional gym to use this year, without those facilities, the program would be dead. We're so thankful for all those around the programs and I'm very excited. The program is going to be around for a long time and here to stay."