The Osoyoos Secondary School senior boys’ Rattlers basketball team is joined by schoolmates in a cheer at a pep rally Tuesday morning. The team is off to provincial championships. (Richard McGuire photo)
Members of the Osoyoos Secondary School Rattlers senior boys basketball team were given a resounding sendoff by more than 300 students, Mayor Sue McKortoff, all of their teachers and senior administration Tuesday morning.
For the first time in many years, the Rattlers have qualified for the British Columbia Provincial 1A Senior Boys Basketball Championships, which begin later this week in Langley.
The Rattlers play their first game Wednesday afternoon against Maple Ridge Christian School. Maple Ridge is ranked eighth in the 16-team field, just one spot ahead of the Rattlers.
The Rattlers qualified for the provincial championships by finishing third in the recent Okanagan Valley regional tournament in Lumby.
OSS principal Mike Safek, vice principal Shannon Miller and the entire student body and teaching staff gathered in the gymnasium Tuesday morning for a brief pep rally to let head coach Casey Brouwer and the players know the entire town is behind them as they try and win a provincial championship.
“This is a huge deal,” said Safek. “These boys have worked really hard all year … and we wanted to give the boys a big sendoff as they head to the provincials.”
Brouwer introduced every player on the team before the entire student body and teaching staff surrounded the players in the middle of the gymnasium to scream out a resounding, “Rattlers on Three” chant.
Brouwer, who works for the Town of Osoyoos, has been coaching basketball at OSS for six years, including the last three years in charge of the senior boys squad.
He couldn’t be prouder of this team of young men who have worked so hard in practice and in games to represent themselves, the school and this community over the past several months, said Brouwer.
“We had one goal in mind and that was to put a (championship) banner on this wall,” said Brouwer. “I’m just very proud of every single one of them.”
The Rattlers enter the provincials with a solid record of 13 wins and seven losses in regular season and tournament play.
While qualifying for the provincial championships is certainly the highlight, this team has proven to be competitive from the very first practice back in September, said Brouwer.
They finished third at the OSS Rattlers tournament a couple of weeks before winning a tournament in Barriere. They finished fourth at a big tournament in Kelowna and played their best basketball of the season when it mattered most by claiming third place at the regional tournament in Lumby, said Brouwer.
McKortoff said it’s very impressive to have a team from a small school like OSS qualify for the provincial championship tournament and she wished the players and coaching staff the very best in Langley.
“On behalf of the town and town council, we wish you absolutely the very best,” she said. “We’re so proud of the sports teams in our community. The Coyotes have moved on the next round, three minor hockey teams have qualified for provincial championships and your team is heading to the provincials.
“I’m hoping you have a great time down in Langley. Play hard, have fun and do your very best.”
Members of the OSS Rattlers include Arshdeep Gill, Gurkirat Toor, Benson Cheng, Gurial Dhaliwal, Robby Rosa, Jotdeep Brar, Aman Rai, Richard Pasquin, Shayden Stark and Gurshan Sandhu.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
Shayden Stark crashes through a banner as the Osoyoos Secondary School Rattlers senior boys’ basketball team is given a send-off rally Tuesday morning before heading to provincial championships. (Richard McGuire photo)
The Osoyoos Secondary School senior boys’ basketball team was given a send-off at a pep rally at the school Tuesday morning. The team is headed to provincial championships. (Richard McGuire photo)
The Osoyoos Secondary School senior boys’ Rattlers basketball team is joined by schoolmates in a cheer at a pep rally Tuesday morning. The team is off to provincial championships. (Richard McGuire photo)
