Special to the Times-Chronicle
The SOSS grade 8 girls and boys basketball teams dug deep to capture both South Okanagan Provincial births.
Early in the season, the teams had talked about the Invitational Provincial tournament, but never thought it could be a reality. Due to COVID restrictions, athletes were not able to compete for the last two years. Those are key “developmental years” which were lost and put the Gr. 8 program in a state of catch up as the big centre teams all had access to club programs.
Part way through our season, the PHO Guidelines were updated again, with the cancellation of all tournaments. This was a devastating blow to all teams. Regardless, teams continued to compete in league play. On the girls’ side, we had to cancel 2 of our 9 games due to COVID. The boys were able to play all of theirs.
Both teams travelled to Abbotsford to compete in the Grade 8 Invitational Provincial Basketball Tournament on March 2nd. The girls lost to MEI in the home opener 87-18 and lost 49-22 to Glenbrook. They worked hard and played with determination, coming up short against Howe, 32-16. Van Tech was their final game. They never gave up, but fatigue and injury were just too much.
The boys played the #1 ranked and seeded Vancouver College in their first game and lost 89-23. The style of play, attention to detail and fitness level of all their athletes was eye opening.
Grade 8 boys team at Southern Okanagan Secondary School earned a berth at the provincial finals this year. Photo contributed.
The next 3 games saw the boys play Walnut Grove, Mt. Slesse and Dover Bay. These games ended up being losses for the boys, but they were competitive in each of them. Going into the week, the team was challenged to control the controllable – attitude and effort. They did so and had a great weekend of basketball and made some lifelong memories.
Although the teams did not end up on the winning side of things, they represented the South Okanagan with pride. Going into the tournament, the coaches knew they faced an uphill battle.
The goal was to give them a “taste” of what the Provincial tournaments are all about. We are setting our goals on heading back to the Provincials in the future. The kids have all worked extremely hard and we are very proud of them. We are looking forward to a bright future of basketball at SOSS.
Grade 8 girls basketball team from Southern Okanagan Secondary School are going to the provincials. Photo contributed.
