The Caledonia Kermode senior boys basketball team held their home opener night to raise money for their first-ever Men’s Health Night on Nov. 29 in Terrace.
Challenging Prince Rupert’s Charles Hays Rainmakers to the court, they designated 50 per cent of admission proceeds to go towards a Caledonia teacher’s Movember campaign and raised approximately $250.
“We just wanted to give back and supporter a good cause, we have a lot of teachers who grow mustaches and one of them even held a campaign,” says head coach Matt Lowndes. “Since it was Movember, we thought it was a good fit.”
Lowndes says they’re striving to implement other important teachings beyond their sports program when training athletes, especially as mental health becomes a more mainstream conversation with youth.
“As athletes, it’s important to understand your bodies and understand your health… we try to lead by example and make sure they’re being good role models and that they’re making good positive choices for themselves,” he says.
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As for the home opener game itself, the Caledonia Kermode team lost to Charles Hays Rainmakers 93-64.
“The boys came out with a lot of energy, the other group was a very good basketball team so we couldn’t quite sustain it for the entire basketball game, they got is in the second half,” Lowndes says. “It’s always fun to play in the home opener and we competed well for the duration.”
The Caledonia Kermode senior boys then redeemed themselves that weekend with two straight wins, 79-39 during their play with the Lakes District Secondary and 66-28 against Smithers Secondary.
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With the basketball season at its start, Lowndes says their team is training hard as they prepare for a busy schedule ahead of them. They expect to play an approximate total of 30 games.
“We have a game every weekend from now until the end of February and we’re just super excited to you play, we’re going on a journey with this great group of kids.”
Tonight, the Caledonia Kermode basketball team is off to Vanderhoof to play in the 54 annual Vikings Classic games.
natalia@terracestandard.com
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