July 16, 2015- CALGARY –Now that the St. Mary’s University Lightning men’s basketball team has wrapped up their third season of existence in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC), the behind-the-scenes work begins.
Men’s team assistant coach Mitchel Turgeon sought out an opportunity to help grow the Lightning brand within the city of Calgary and Alberta, so he created the city’s only boys club team to be currently affiliated with a post-secondary institution – the Junior Lightning.
The program was developed this year to give young players a place where they can develop their skills with the help of qualified post-secondary coaching. Currently based out of Chestermere High School, the Junior Lightning participates in tournaments all over Alberta in the Under-15 and Under-17 age groups.
With the Calgary club basketball scene being highly competitive and expensive, Turgeon’s intentions are in the best interest of developing athletes, rather than focusing on the profitability of the club.
“We want to give kids the opportunity to learn and play the game the right way, in the best interest of their development as players and men off the court, not in the interest of making money, winning, and teaching the wrong skills,” explains Turgeon. “At the same time, we’re keeping the costs cheaper than the vast majority of club programs in Calgary.”
Turgeon’s strong ties to the Chestermere community date back to his high school coaching days with the Lakers boys basketball program from 2005-2013. His relationship with the school has allowed Turgeon to keep overall costs down and hopes to expand his participation outreach to outside the Chestermere community.
Besides the goal of expanding the Lightning brand, another key part of the program is developing current Lightning players on the coaching side of the game. Current Lightning players Quinn Taylor, Charnjot Gill and Carson Young, have all volunteered their time this summer to help Turgeon with the program, an opportunity to give back to the community.
Lightning guard Charnjot Gill making his coaching debut with the Junior Lightning U-15 squad at the W.I.N. classic May 22nd 2015
Lightning guard Charnjot Gill making his coaching debut with the Junior Lightning U-15 squad at the W.I.N. classic May 22nd 2015
For Chestermere native and current St. Mary’s University Lightning guard Gill, the experience of being on the bench as a coach was enlightening.
“Being on the coaching side of the game was a new and fun experience for me. I enjoyed having the younger players listen and look up to me, but most importantly was having the opportunity to build a relationship with each and every one of the players.” says Gill
Gill says the players are not the only ones doing the learning.
“Dealing with the younger players allowed me to grow as a person because I looked at the importance of the game and how it can help these players develop into better people off the court.” he says. “I looked at how I wanted to be treated as a player by my coaches, and it helped me view things from a coaching perspective. I gained more patience as a person, which helped me with my coaching role in allowing mistakes to happen.”
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For more information on the Junior Lightning program contact:
Mitchel Turgeon
Junior Lightning Club Coordinator /Head Coach
For information on Lightning Athletics or media inquiries:
Lindsay English
Assistant Athletic Director, St. Mary’s University Lightning
403-254-3770 | lindsay.english@stmu.ca | athletics.stmu.ca
