On Wednesday, the Guelph Nighthawks invited kids from community basketball programs in the city to be the first to use the team’s newly-installed court at the Sleeman Centre.
Team president Cameron Kusch said becoming a strong community partner is key to building a fan base for the new team, which will play its first game next May.
“The opportunity to partner with the Jr. Gryphons association is a perfect way to kick off the court being used for the first time at the Sleeman Centre,” said Kusch. “It’s also the perfect time for us to begin to build that relationship with the local basketball community.”
As coaches are selected and the roster is filled out over the next nine months, Kusch said they will become not only representatives for the team, but also active in the community.
Noah Mondesire and Robert Vosper are both entering Grade 9 this year and involved with the Jr. Gryphons program and tried out the new court on Wednesday. The teens have both been involved with the program for a number of years and are able to apply the mentoring they do with younger players toward their high school requirement for volunteer hours.
“It’s fun to do this,” said Mondesire. “I’m volunteering, getting my hours and playing basketball.”
Vosper was born into a basketball family, his father Kurt was once a coach with Basketball Canada and later founded the Guelph Youth Basketball Association. He looks forward to seeing some Nighthawks games next year.
“For some people it’s a little too expensive to get to Toronto for a Raptors,” said Vosper. “Now I can watch a professional team playing in my home town — it’s really cool.”
The court was put together at the Sleeman Centre about three weeks ago. Kusch said the team had a short window in the Guelph Storm offseason to install and refurbish the floor, which had previously been installed at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines, Ont.
“We had our supplier come in, sand it all down and resurface it to prep it for next year,” said Kusch.
The new dominant black paint job on the sidelines reflects the branding for the Nighthawks. The team logo will be added to centre court and the Nighthawk name will be applied to the baselines before the start of next season.
Kusch said the local business community has been very receptive to the team since it was announced late last year that the Canadian Elite Basketball League will be launching with a Guelph team. The Nighthawk name and branding was introduced in June.
If the Nighthawks are going to fly, Kusch knows a lot of work has to be done by the team before opening day.
“It’s up to us to build a quality product that the fans will come out to,” said Kusch. “Hopefully with the fans coming out we will be able to succeed in building that relationship with the business community and give them a product that helps them connect and to market their company.”
