Thank the Raptors and the Edge for 'basketball boom' in N.L., coaches say
NBA team's recent slam dunks having trickle-down effect on program numbers
Between an already historic season for the Toronto Raptors, and the popularity of the St. John's Edge, there's a basketball renaissance in Newfoundland and Labrador, according to people who play, train and organize.
That effect is obvious at a high school gym in St. John's, where the 2021 Canada Games under-15 girls' team scrimmaged against the boys' team Wednesday night.
"I really like the Raptors, and they've been doing really good so far," said Brooke Le Dévéhat, 14, who started playing basketball about four years ago.
"My favourite part about playing basketball is definitely running and playing with the team, because I did track but it's kind of solo, but in basketball you have a team of people who are with you."
For Jesse Buckle, it's the Raptors' competitors — and the local favourites — who inspire him.
"Big Edge fan, big Warriors fan," he said with a laugh, when asked if he's been following the Raptors.
But the courts in Newfoundland and Labrador weren't always filled with kids, according to Scott Noftall, the owner of Next Level Basketball Training.
"The only way to describe it is a basketball boom," Noftall said.
In five years, he's seen enrolment in his training programs rise substantially — and can pinpoint exactly why.
It's an exciting time to be a part of basketball in Newfoundland and Labrador.- Judy Byrne
"You have a triple threat. You had the St. John's Edge factor and Carl English — obviously huge," he said.
"And then you have the Toronto Raptors, which has just taken the country over right now."
The Raptors play in Game 6 of the NBA finals Thursday night in Oakland, against the reigning champions, the Golden State Warriors.
The series has reached a fever pitch across the country, as Canada's only NBA team aims to make history with the franchise's first championship title.
Judy Byrne, executive director of the N.L. Basketball Association, said that "amazing run" playoff series has fuelled more curiosity about basketball province-wide.
"It's an exciting time to be a part of basketball in Newfoundland and Labrador. I could go on, and on, and on," she said with a laugh.
"We really have seen such a growth."
But Byrne, herself a former player for the Memorial University Sea-Hawks, said it's not the only reason for the uptick in interest.
"There was a lull. It goes through cycles. It depends on what type of athletes you have coming through the programs, and it depends heavily on our volunteers and our coaches," she said.
"Right now we are in a great cycle, we have great volunteers, we have great coaches."
Byrne pointed to basketball clubs outside of school programming, which are helping give the sport a boost.
While many of those groups are on the Avalon Peninsula, Byrne said there are also clubs in Labrador, Corner Brook and Grand Falls-Windsor.
Those groups also deserve credit for the boom, Byrne said, adding that while the Raptors add a spark, it's the communities fuelling growth.
Programs like the Junior NBA — a national youth basketball program for children in schools, from kindergarten up — deserve lots of credit, too, she said.
Those initiatives are good for not only the sport, but for the health of the province in general.
"Introducing kids to sport at a young age means they are going to be active now," Byrne said.
"But that's [also] going to carry through in life."
