(Photo Courtesy: Jamie Newman)

The U17 Boys at SC Elite Basketball have had a season to remember, igniting a winning tradition that could be cemented for years to come.

Winning by 12 points the U17 boys not only finished atop the 8 team Genesis League, but earned their first Championship over the Calgary Storm in their inaugural season.

"All our teams had lots of success," said Jamie Newman, Head Coach of the U17 Boys and Director of Basketball Operations. "It's absolutely been fabulous, what a great start to club basketball for SC Elite."

From the U13 Boys and U17 Girls winning tournaments this season and plethora of runner-up performances by the U15 teams, Newman said the results have been fantastic.

"This is a dream of mine. I've lived in Airdrie for a long long time and I've called Airdrie home for a long long time and able to bring these boys to that next level and start opening up their eyes about what good club basketball is all about - the sky's the limit."

Newman said the Championship will help instill confidence in not only the players but the rest of his coaching staff - to continue making SC Elite the best it can be.

"There's so much passion for the sport and I think this is just going to open the next set of doors for these kids going into high school but at the end of the day getting onto post-secondary after."

With 165 kids enrolled across their six club teams and junior programs, Newman said they intend to add a U11 Boys team to the mix next year while also setting up a Fall Academy for new and returning players prior to the High School season.

"If everyone tells one person like that's ridiculous, we're going to run out of gym space," chuckled Newman. "We have so much potential out there and it's just getting bigger and bigger."

Bradley Jones - airdrienews@goldenwestradio.com