Even though Cary Dalton hasn’t personally seen the competition that he’ll be facing as coach of the Prince Rupert Middle School (PRMS) Storm in the 2015 Grade 8 Provincial Basketball Championship on March 5 - 7, he knows his own team quite well.
And they’re capable of handling almost anything thrown their way.
“I don’t know what we’re going to run into [at the Pitt Meadows-hosted tourney],” said Dalton.
“For us, we can’t afford to go to Vancouver before the trip, so we haven’t seen anybody. I’ve made contact with some people I know to try and find out what’s down there at the Grade 8 level.”
So, the message is a simple one.
“I told the boys to play hard, do the best we can do ... [our opposition] doesn’t know about us either,” said Dalton.
The Rupert team is one of the coach’s best he’s seen in 10 years. Whether that translates to a B.C. championship is yet to be seen, but he likes the winning components of the crew he’s got.
“Their skill level is quite high for Grade 8s, they have good size for Grade 8s, overall good athleticism ... so all in all I’ve got a solid basketball team. I’m seven [players] deep and those first seven are all strong,” said Dalton.
PRMS will be up against such division champs as the host team Pitt Meadows, St. George’s, Burnaby South, Byrne Creek, Gordon Head, Nanaimo and District, Shuswap Middle, KVR Middle School, Westsyde, Lord Tweedsmuir, Dr. Knox, North Delta, Eugene Reimer and C & G Howe.
“These kids play in big leagues and they play lots of games. They’re battle-hardened and battle-tested. My team up here in the north, we’ve played everything from women’s teams to senior girls to other teams in the zone. We have to play a whole hodgepodge of teams ... the problem is finding a level of play that pushes them,” said Dalton.
Among the Rupert players looking to make an impact at provincials are Liam McChesney, Seji Sahdra and Daniel Cachero. Cachero was a zones all-star versus Hazelton and McChesney took zones MVP.
Dalton likes the progress the boys have made from the start of the season until provincials and is helping them realize a different game on the court – a more team-oriented one.
“Their skills have gotten better ... and when they play community ball, each one of them is so individually strong that they dominate,” said the coach.
“But now going into Grade 8 ball, all the teams are getting coached. The skills are getting there, they’re running systems and now these guys can’t do it all on their own skill and strength – they have to rely on teammates to help them get open, to help them get into the right position,” he added.
The Storm will play round one on Thursday, rounds two and three on Friday and round four on Saturday should they make it that far, with the championship game being played at 4:15 p.m.