Leader-Post G5 YOUTH BASKETBALL Young players get a shot at the big time By TIM SWITZER Leader-Post Brayden Sugar got a taste of what his future might look like on Wednesday. The 13-year-old and three classmates from Payepot School on the Piapot First Nation spent the morning on a tour of the University of Regina campus and shooting hoops with members of the Cougars basketball teams. “This is cool to get to do,” said Sugar, a Grade 8 student and budding basketball player who is already six-foot-one. “We get out on these field trips and get to do fun things with the other students.” Bringing the groups together was the brainchild of Kur- tis Balon, a first-year teacher at the K-12 school. A life-long basketball fan, Balon noticed a lot of desire and talent to play the game when he started at Payepot, but there weren’t enough players to field a team. Instead, Balon has run an after-school program for those who want to play. “There was some unrefined talent so it was nice to get to do something where they were working on skills — using both hands and the basics of defence,” said Balon. “These guys have been committed and are working their butts off. They're a really great group of guys. “We had an anti-gang workshop at our school a few weeks ago and the round dance that evening was a fundraiser. We thought we should put the money towards something positive so we picked up a bunch of basketballs and started the after-school program.” The idea to hook up with the Cougars evolved from there. “There’s some big decisions that come up at this stage in life for these guys,” said Balon. “We want to show them if you want to work hard and put in the time, you can be a university athlete. Or if your mind is set up to be in the skilled trades or a teacher, if you’re willing to put in the time and work hard like these athletes, you can make it.” The day at the U of R, though, wasn’t just about basket- ball. The students also took a tour of the Rams facility with defensive lineman Paul McDill, toured ‘classrooms and learned what it takes to be a student athlete who has to work at school and in sports. “We showed them the whole university experience,” said basketball player Jordan McFarlen. “We told them how you’re treated by professors and that the responsibili- ty is on you to go to school. It was what being a student means.” After all that, the Payepot students engaged in a little four-on-four with McFarlen, teammates Paul Gareau and Lyn Gee and women’s basketball team member Maja Kraloveova. “T want to come here when I graduate, get a job and fig- ure out what I want to do with my education,” said Sugar.