Public school students in Almonte, a small town known for its basketball heritage, received an early introduction to the sport from Ottawa’s professional basketball team. The Ottawa Blackjacks visited R. Tait McKenzie Public School on Tuesday, hosting a skills and drills day for students and teach the basics of the game. “Sometimes we get caught looking at screens a little bit much,” said Blackjacks president Jason Winters, speaking to CTV News Ottawa. “As you can see here, there’s no screens. Everyone’s moving the ball, hands are up, they’re talking to one another and we really just hope [they take away a sense of] togetherness.” While Blackjacks players have shifted focus to European leagues throughout the winter, staff with the organization hosted multiple hour-long sessions with various grade levels, with a focus on dribbling, shooting, and competition. “As much as it’s our favorite sport, we want to try and get kids involved at this age too,” said Jessica Zarowny, a basketball operations executive with the Blackjacks. “I think this is a pivotal age for starting basketball.” At just 10-years-old, Finn Martineau is just starting to get into basketball. “My neighbors are giving me their hoop, so me and my mom could practice,” said the Grade 5 student after his session with the Blackjacks organization. “How to shoot, I learned that, and basketball’s a bit more fun than I used to know it was.” “(It was) very cool, and I appreciate that they took time from their days to come here and show us some stuff so we can have some fun,” said Martineau. But in the same breath, Martineau admits he didn’t know Ottawa had a professional basketball team until his teacher told his class they would be visiting. It’s a reality shared by more than just 10-year-olds, according to Winters, and a surprising one at that. “A lot of times we’d find out talking to our fans and our sponsors like, ‘oh, I wasn’t aware that there was a professional team in Ottawa here,’” said the team’s president. Winters says the tour – which will also hit schools in Cornwall, Brockville, and Rockland, with the aim of adding more schools in Ottawa and Gatineau – is also about raising the team’s profile. He says it has been difficult to carve out a space in Ottawa for the Blackjacks alongside the Senators, Redblacks, 67’s, Rapid, and Atlético Ottawa. “With all the things that are going on in Ottawa, I think just having the fans be able to come in, experience TD Place, experience with the how interactive the game is, and for value, it’s cheaper than going to a movie now to come and see live sports for two hours,” says Winters. “Our pillars [are] fast, fearless, and fun,” adds Zarowny. “If we can really accentuate that fun one and they go home and say, ‘Mom, I had a great day, the Blackjacks came in,’ that’s perfect for us just to get our name into the households.” And after a day of nailing the basics, Martineau believes he’s ready for his first game at TD Place. “Yeah, I could probably go there. I’ll ask my parents.”
