21-year-old Airdronian Matthew Saffran and his company are taking the next steps to continue making club basketball and basketball clinics more affordable in Airdrie.
Saffran, the owner of Peak Youth Athletics has a goal to help develop Airdronians and help them reach the basketball skills level that they desire.
The lofty goal is costly, which is a major hurdle for most players. Saffran's goal is to help cut those costs so everybody has a chance to play. This was highlighted while working as a basketball coach at W.H. Croxford, where he saw plenty of kids who wanted to play club but could not afford it.
"I just felt like it wasn't fair that some kids wouldn't get the opportunity to do that because of their financial situation."
Just recently, Saffran announced that he is creating a spring club basketball team for those in grades 10-12.
"I started this because a lot of club basketball teams, when you go into Calgary are very expensive. They range from $1,600 - $2000 or sometimes even more. My goal was to provide a much cheaper option."
As a teenager, Saffran's life was all about sports, which included playing basketball at W.H. Croxford where he led his senior team to provincials. Unfortunately, a few years ago he suffered a longboard accident that almost took his ability to walk, so he could not keep playing basketball at a competitive level.
"I still loved the sport, and I wanted to be around it, so a couple of years after I hurt myself. I decided to take up coaching and I fell in love with it."
Photo of Matt coaching young Airdrionians. Photo provided by Matthew Saffran.When he holds these free camps for Airdronians to work on their skills, he said parents are always happy they don't have to spend all kinds of money.
"Basketball can be super expensive, so a lot of times they're just really grateful."
Saffran stated club basketball is key for kids that want to play basketball at the next level like university, so it's only fair that everybody has the opportunity to try it.
He is confident coaching and mentoring other players is what he was always meant to do.
To learn more about Saffran, his company and the different camps he holds, click HERE.
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