Strathroy Spirit Basketball: A LIVING LEGACY
Welcome to Strathroy Spirit Basketball!
Spirit Basketball has played a vital role in the development of young female athletes in the Strathroy area since its founding in 1992. As one of the longest-running youth athletic clubs in the region, it has fostered not only basketball skills but also teamwork, discipline, and a love for the game.
Many players have gone on to achieve great things, and the program continues to be a cornerstone for aspiring athletes in local communities. The impact of Spirit Basketball is evident in the strong sense of community and support it has built over the years.
A history dedicated to girls in sports
In the late 1980s, Bev Bergman and Gerry Hyatt (Sr. football coaches at
SDCI) were running a basketball program for Gr. 6 - 8 boys in Strathroy
one night a week in Gym A/B. Mac MacPherson had begun coaching
senior boys basketball and wanted his team to be better and that was one
of the reasons for Bev’s younger skills development program. Lanny Marintette (Jr. football coach) offered to help coach if his Gr.7 daughter from Colborne was allowed to play with the boys. They said yes.
By the mid-80s, girls basketball was gaining in popularity throughout
southwestern Ontario. The rules had been changed to mirror boys rules
which demanded more skills and a more aggressive tone. Large cities
began organizing competitive girls club basketball programs at younger
and younger ages (for example, in London the Ramblers program). The
elementary schools these girls attended became stronger and more
advanced, such as Byron Southwood and St. Marks. These girls attended
high schools such as Oakridge, Central, South and Regina Mundi and high
school basketball became more advanced. Teams at Medway and North
Middlesex were benefiting just by being closer to London.
Strathroy had not experienced this rapid growth of interest in girls basketball. Playing basketball was down the list below soccer, volleyball and track. Pat talked with Lanny about the need for developing more interest in basketball and how a club basketball program would possibly make that happen. Lanny described the boys basketball program that Bev and Gerry had developed and how much his daughter had enjoyed playing. The same thing could be done just for girls. Stu Duncan at Colborne had also begun building more competitive teams. A handful of girls from the Gr. 8 Cougar team played in the boys program run by Bev and Gerry.
In 1990, Pat and Lanny came to an agreement. Pat would take charge of registrations, sponsors, equipping and getting free gym time. Lanny would look after training coaches, building lessons to teach skills and then running games. The program would run one night a week during the winter. Pat originally wanted to call the program “Saints” but this would not be allowed so he came up with the name “Spirit” which he thought was very close to the school name. A registration fee was charged to pay for t-shirts and to pay SDCI players to coach and referee. The t-shirts were donated at cost by Lee Whiteside and Pat found sponsors to donate two dozen youth sized basketballs.