If the Richmond Bantam championship game is any indication, the future of girls basketball in the city is a very bright one.
The Steveston-London Sharks capped a dominant run in Richmond play with a 58-31 victory over the McMath Wildcats last Thursday. Both teams will move onto next week’s Vancouver and District Championships and have a very good chance of going to the Grade 8 B.C. Invitational Tournament, hosted by Pitt Meadows in early March.
The senior girls level has been dominated by McMath in recent years. They are expected to cap another unbeaten season when they host the Richmond final Wednesday night. However, some level of parity looks to be on the horizon.
Steveston-London Grade 8s are enjoying an exceptional campaign with a roster that features loads of talent. McMath shows plenty of promise while McRoberts and Hugh Boyd are also putting competitive teams on the floor. What all these programs have in common is players who have come through the Richmond Youth Basketball League (RYBL).
“The community of Richmond has done a great job of building the basketball culture,” said Sharks head coach Rob Urquhart. “It started with the club teams and now you see the level of excitement among the schools.
“I’m so proud of these girls. They have worked so hard for me all season long and have done everything I have asked of them. They are such a pleasure to coach."
The opposing coach in the city final didn’t have to be reminded the impact club basketball has made in developing talent.
Tim Carkner mentored a number of girls from both schools since as early as Grade 3 in the RYBL program. His teams not only did well at the provincial club championships but brought home two medals from the 2016 B.C. Summer Games as well.
“This was kind of a funny game. If all these kids ended up at one school (that team) would have been very scary,” laughed Carkner. “The one great thing a program like RYBL has been able to do is we have three or four (alumni) kids playing at different schools. The level is pretty good right now (in Richmond) and it’s only going to get better.
“Every time I go into the gym, there is usually two to three faces on the other team that I have coached over the years. Then you have Trish Nicholson building the program at McRoberts. I think you are going to see things really change over the years with some great rivalries developing. By Grade 10 it should be pretty intense.”
Carkner has helped lay the foundation the same way his late father did.
Bob Carkner launched a mini-basketball program on Lulu Island in the early 1970s that led to provincial powerhouse teams for boys and girls at Richmond High and Steveston.
“Kids got hooked on it and loved it,” continued Carkner. “By the time they reach Grade 8 they already got some of the fundamentals. That leads to a pretty high level of basketball.
“Losing the final today was disappointing but the best part is seeing these kids I coached still loving basketball and playing a sport. All these teams had 15-20 kids at tryouts. Hopefully as the years go on, Richmond basketball will be really strong.”
The Vancouver and District Championships start next Tuesday with Richmond third place finishers McRoberts playing Burnaby/New West No. 3 to advance to the main draw.
