The Kwalikum Kondors are getting ready for a lot of high school hoopla this winter.
Head coach Taylor Wilson indicated they just concluded tryouts and have picked a solid 12-man roster for the coming 2022-23 North Island League.
“We’ve added some height this year which will help as we have been on the shorter side over the last few years,” said Taylor. “We have six returning players from last year and six new players with various levels of experience. With a good mix of talent, experience and athleticism we have the opportunity to have a successful year. But as always that will depend on how the boys come together as a team and leave their individual egos at the door.”
The Kondors belong to the combined AAA/AA/A Tier 2 in the North Island League, which is new this season. The AAA schools in this tier are Ballenas Whalers, Alberni Armada and Timberline Wolves. The AA schools include the Kondors, Highland Raiders and Ladysmith 49ers, while the A schools are Duncan Christian Chargers and Nanaimo Christian Trail Blazers.
READ MORE: Ballenas Whalers junior girls volleyball squad earns spot at B.C. championships
The Kondors will play their first league game against Ladysmith at Kwalikum on Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. But prior to that, they will play some tuneup games.
“I am very happy that we finally decided to play in a tiered league system this year.” said Taylor. “Myself and a number of coaches have been trying to get this in place for a few years. Victoria has done a similar system for years with success and we wanted to implement up Island to have a more balanced and compet itive league schedule. Hopefully this means that we will be playing competitive games throughout the whole season in order to be playing our best basketball by playoff time at the end of February.”
Taylor, who has now been teaching at Kwalikum for two consecutive years, has found it ideal to get students to know him better and build the basketball program.
“We had nearly 1/5 of the entire student population try out for the various levels of basketball teams this year, which goes to show how much basketball is growing in the community.” said Taylor. “My next challenge is to build the interest within the adults and business in the community. Hopefully we can get more fans out to games beyond friends and family.”
The team consists of Aiden Campbell, Justin Son, Bryce Melnick, Logan Magel, Owen Peters, Zach Winchester, Nolan Brockway, Alec Pascoe, Liam Urie and Carter Hamling.
Wilson added they are always looking for sponsorships from businesses and other generous donors who can help out the Kondors with their expenses. Anyone wishing to donate or assist can contact the school or Wilson.
Here’s the home games schedule of the Kondors this season:
• Dec. 6, Home vs Ladysmith 7 p.m.
• Dec. 13, Home vs Port Alberni 7 p.m.
• Jan. 10, Home vs Duncan Christian 7 p.m.
• Jan. 14, Home, KSS Tournament
• Jan. 17, Home vs Ballenas 7 p.m.
• Feb. 16-18 Away @ Highlands Comox. North Island playoffs
• Feb. 23-25 Away @ Brentwood Island playoffs
Like Us