Some of our many SBA Players on the rise.

Cory Joseph
Cory attended the University of Texas and became the SBA’s first player to be drafted into the NBA. He is now a point guard for the San Antonio Spurs.

 

Kelly Olynyk

Kelly is currently attending Gonzaga University, where he plays basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The Gonzaga forward said he will skip his senior season to enter NBA draft. 

 

 

 

Maurice Walker
Maurice is currently a sophomore at the University of Minnesota where he plays basketball for the Minnesota Gophers. Maurice scored his 100th career point at Ohio State (2/20/23).

 

 

 

Troy Joseph

Troy is currently a sophomore at Long Island University where he plays basketball for the Long Island Blackbirds.

 

 

 

 

SBA is proud of all its players – girls and boys – who have continued their education.

3 Generations of Hope

Grafton Hope joined the SBA in 1997. Coaching for over ten years, he helped to grow the boys House League program into what it is today. Back from a small break, Grafton is now convening the Senior boys program on Friday nights as well as teaching Saturday mornings.

Grafton’s son Jamaal, starting playing for the SBA House League when he was 9. He played until he was 15 and then became a score keeper at our House League games.

At the age of 17, he coached the boys House League team for a year. Jamaal’s daughter Javayah is 7 and now plays in the girls house league program.

SBA is proud to have the Hope family as part of our team.

Players give back

At 6 and 7 years old, Taylor, Angela, and Anna joined the SBA House League and REP programs. All three girls continued to play for the SBA until they graduated High School. 

Currently, Taylor is pursuing an education in Early Childhood Education & teaching.

Angela attended Queens on a Soccer Scholarship and Anna attended the University of Toronto and continues to play for their basketball team. Both are completing their teaching degrees.

 

Through the SBA basketball programs these players and many more like them have not only learned the fundamentals of basketball but have also developed lifelong friendships and in turn they all give back to the SBA. 

Taylor is actively involved on Saturdays in the House League program and Angela is working as a trainer with the girls program. Anna volunteers when ever she’s in town.

 

 

 

SBA is proud that its many players – girls and boys – have done so well and continue to give back to the SBA programs. 

 

 

 

Philosophy and Aims of the SBA

Formed in 1996 as a non-profit organization, the SBA has a simple game plan – to provide youth in and around the Scarborough area with the opportunity to grow and enjoy life through the sport of basketball.

For some of our youth, the SBA will be a launching pad for a successful basketball career in college or university. Some may even go on to become professional players, based on the fundamentals that we helped them develop. However, for most, the SBA and its basketball programs are simply a means of building character, developing friendships and having a whole lot of fun.

Our philosophy and commitment to the youth is simple:
• train and teach basketball fundamentals to all age levels
• emphasize the importance of teamwork for all participants
• practice the ideas of health, discipline, hard work and dedication
• teach acceptable social behaviors in sport
• give at-risk or disadvantaged youth the opportunity to participate in a positive environment
• provide affordable programs
• keep the welfare of the player first and free of undue pressure from coaches or parents

The Scarborough Basketball Association is a registered non-profit organization, run and coached by unpaid volunteers. We believe in putting athletes first and winning second. In our 16 years of existence, we have placed Scarborough on the basketball map in Ontario, by producing great basketball programs, players and organizing highly competitive tournaments.

Scarborough Basketball Association is continuing to give back to the community with the improvement of their gyms. In partnership with the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic Separate School Board, we have helped fund the purchases of scoreboards, protective mats and the refinishing of court floors of quality gyms in David and Mary Thomson CI and Pope John Paul II CSS schools. Not only do our athletes benefit from the use of these gyms, but, so do the students that attend these schools.

Founding Members: Bob Clement & Sam Moncada

 

Former Blues player named to OCAA Men’s Basketball East Division All-Rookie Team

Congratulations to Alex Hagoriles on being named to the 2012-2013 OCAA Men’s Basketball East Division All-Rookie Team.

Alex played for the Blues from 2006 to 2012. Alex’s hard working ethics and passion for the game has empowered him to become the promising player that he is today.

The Blues are proud of Alex’s accomplishments and wish him the very best throughout his basketball career and personal life.  Go Alex Go!!!

Scarborough Lady Blues U13s

Scarborough Lady Blues U13s a slam dunk in girls basketball

Kamila Hinkson
Toronto Star Staff Reporter

For members of the Scarborough Lady Blues under-13 rep team, as the saying goes, life is simple.

Eat. Sleep. Play basketball.

Paulla Weekes, 12, tags along with her parents to their basketball games to practise while they play. She practises at school. She practises at home.

When asked if there’s a day she doesn’t play basketball, she shakes her head, grinning shyly. She wouldn’t have it any other way.

Caroline Makaruk, also 12, practises “for hours a week, just shooting and working on things that I have to get better at.”

Eleven-year-old Brianna Breedy’s idea of taking a break from practising is playing basketball video games.

Their practice pays off — the 11-girl team is the two-time provincial champions in Division 1. Their records the past two seasons: 27-3 and 27-5.

They practise as a team twice a week for 90 minutes. The rising cost of gym rentals forced the team to cut back on its practice time this year.

They play at the AAA level in exhibition games and in weekend tournaments in Ontario and in the United States.

Most of the girls are from Scarborough, though some are from the York and Durham regions. Seven girls have been on the team for all three years of head coach Brian Breedy’s tenure.

Coaching young girls can sometimes lead to problems if cliques form or if they don’t get along.

This team doesn’t have that issue.

“We have a strong relationship … and we get along together. … Most teams (don’t) have that, so we have that connection,” Paulla said.

“We always work together and we never give up on each other. We just keep going,” said 12-year-old Mary Caplice, who has been on the team for three years.

“I just don’t believe that the success we’ve had has taken place on the court, it’s the girls bonding away from the court,” said Breedy, who is Brianna’s father.

The team-building activities start before the season, at a barbecue hosted by Breedy. During the season, the girls go bowling, skating and go-karting together.

All of the their achievements are showcased on the team’s website, whether it is scoring 103 per cent on a math test, or finishing first at a cross-country running meet.

Though not all the girls call Scarborough home, Breedy said he believes the team has a duty to give back to the community. One of the team managers is working on getting the girls into a local food bank or nursing home.

The team’s goal this year is to three-peat as provincial champions.

Breedy knows he has a talented, disciplined group of girls who can bring the title home. But he also knows the team has a target on their back, and stresses to the girls that they need to put in the work, in order to win.

“I will never let them get to that point where they feel like they’re better than any other team,” he said.

“We respect every team. We don’t fear anybody, but we respect them.”

400% increase to gym fees is too much!

We need your help to save our community basketball programs. The Toronto District School Board is raising our Gym Fees. Take action now.
As you may or may not know, the TDSB recently increased the permit fees by over 400 percent. Gym permit fees are our biggest single expense.

Our organization runs house league programs, summer and spring break camps, rep teams, and youth mentoring and development programs.

One result of our successes is meeting the needs of the youth in Scarborough and Toronto, has been that the size of our organization has continually grown which; in turn, has meant that we have had to request the use of many TDSB gym facilities. As a result, we were informed last week by the TDSB Permit Department that the SBA had been reclassified from a Subsidized Level 1 to the Subsidized Level 2 category effective September 1, 2012. This change has resulted in permit fees increasing in the range of 400 percent. What is the impact? This will lead to higher registration costs to the children and their families that participate in our programs as our Club is not sponsored by any major company and is forced to rely on player registration fees as its main source of revenue. The consequence will be the boys and girls (many of which are TDSB students) that use the stability, guidance and support of an organized sports program such as the one that SBA provides will no longer be able to afford these programs, and tragically these children and adolescents may find less productive ways to spend their spare time. We have been serving the Scarborough community for 16 years. Through basketball we have taught thousands of youngsters, not only basketball skills but also “life lessons”. We have changed the lives of many of our players, by encouraging them to work hard in the classroom and on the court and to respect their parents, themselves and others. Many players have improved in their studies according to their parents because of the reinforcement of positive attitude. Many have stayed in high school and graduated. Some have received college and university scholarships in both Canada and the United States. As you would expect, this has made a significant impact on their lives, the lives of their families, and their friends. We bring these former players back to serve as role models and mentors to our present players. In fact, this past summer, Cory Joseph, a former SBA player who now plays for the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, spent time at our summer camps in August working with and talking to the campers.

As a not-for-profit organization, all of our fees go directly into the delivery of our programs. As a volunteer based organization, we do not pay our coaches or our directors. We certainly have not had a “surplus fund” at the end of any season.

We all share in the same goal of improving the lives of youth. Please help – call or your trustee – this has to stop.

Blues Elite Basketball Program

Dear SBA Blog Readers,

First off, I would like to introduce myself to all the members of the SBA family and the readers of this blog; my name is Sergey Kalnish, Director for the Blues Elite Basketball Program. The brief bio I always give people about myself (I can talk for hours, so I had to coin out a brief 15 second elevator speech) is that I was born in Russia, grew up in Bulgaria, played basketball and graduated from a University in the USA, and about a year ago moved to Toronto, Canada where I currently live and work. So yes, I have lived, played the game of basketball, studied and worked in many different places, which I believe gives me a unique perspective on the game and life as a whole.

Basketball has been an instrumental part of my journey in life, teaching me valuable lessons along the way, forming some of the strongest friendships and bonds that still last to this day. The game has given me some of my greatest memories and experiences in life, and I have reached a point where I want to give back some of the opportunities that were given to me, pass on the knowledge that the game and its many teachers have taught me, and hopefully light up that same fire in the hearts of young kids that was started in my heart over 15 years ago when I first picked up a basketball.

The Blues Elite Basketball Program is designed to develop student-athletes who want to compete at the college level. It will provide kids with a disciplined, competitive and fun learning environment utilizing the innovative PHASE 1 Basketball Training System, teaching proper movement, timing and spacing on the basketball court while also giving special attention to injury screening and prevention as part of regular workouts.  The Blues Elite will provide players with all the tools they need to maximize their basketball potential, including professional training and coaching, high level of domestic and US competition, as well as top of the line exposure events and recruiting assistance to help our athletes get to the next level. The program is currently available for kids in the U16 and the U19 age groups.

Tryouts for both age groups continue on March 3rd from 12 -3 PM, at East York Collegiate - 650 Cosburn Ave.

With any questions, you can contact me directly at: sergey.kalnish@gmail.com

Thank you

Cory Joseph makes Scarborough Basketball proud.

Last night the Raptors lost to the San Antonio Spurs, 113 – 106 and although a win would have been great – the crowd was thrilled to see SBA’s Cory Joseph play for the first time as a NBA player at home. Cory started his basketball career playing for the Scarborough Blues, then attending the University of Texas, and last year being drafted into the NBA. Cory played 3 minutes in the first half and showed his talents. The Scarborough Basketball Association is proud to call Cory one of their own.