“It’s important that we stay involved and engaged in the community,” women’s basketball head coach Paul Falco said.
While it has been almost a full year without competition, women’s basketball has still made an impact off the court with their involvement in several initiatives.
Both Falco and his players have been motivated to get back onto the court “We are hopeful we can get back later this month. Everyone is anxious to get back in the gym and start playing,” Coach Falco said.
The team has volunteered since this past summer with Reception House, a program that is dedicated to providing services and programs to new refugees entering Canada.
The partnership involved Laurier’s basketball team helping kids of all ages where they required assistance, some of which included tutoring. Falco is proud of the basketball team and their initiative while being held from the court.
“Our players deserve a lot of credit for giving extra time to some of these initiatives. Through the Reception House, we have been working remotely with new Canadians who need assistance in different ways,” he said.
The team also hit their target goal of $1 000 in the annual shoot for a cure fundraising initiative that all women’s basketball programs across Canada take part in.
The 14th edition of the national shoot for a cure program was held virtually over last week, involving a variety of online events and promotion through each team’s social media channels. The partnership involving the national Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association and the Canadian Cancer Society aims to raise money to help fight breast cancer.
The program raised over $105 000 last year surpassing their goal of $100 000 and they were also successful in passing their goal this year, raising over $44 000 throughout last week.
“That program has been going on ever since I’ve been coaching and it’s something that we are happy to do every year,” Falco said.
“The team was able to raise over $1 000 for the Breast Cancer Foundation, something we all should be proud of,” he continued.
The 14-year cumulative total for the shoot for a cure campaign sits at $1.5 million and is set to increase once this year’s totals are added on.
On the basketball side of things, Coach Falco knows that he will be coaching a much younger team due to several players losing out on their final year this past season.
“It’s hard to say what it will look like when we return, but we are going to be ready for anything. For right now, it’s all about keeping ourselves prepared both mentally and physically for when we are allowed to return to play,” Coach Falco said.
Coach Falco especially prioritized the two months in November when the team was allowed for a limited return to train.
“Those two months before exams in December, that was really good for the players. They got a chance to work on their skills and at least they were able to be in the gym, get away from the books for a little bit and see each other, which was nice,” he said.
While Coach Falco and the women’s basketball team are eager to return to the gym, they have done a great job in staying involved with their community. As optimism grows towards an OUA return in the fall of this year, Coach Falco and his team will be prepared for anything they have ahead of them.
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