From 40 point losses that were routine five years ago, the South Delta Sun Devils have climbed their way back to respectability. Now the challenge is being in a position to contend for the school’s first-ever provincial berth in the highly-competitive world of senior boys basketball.
The Sun Devils battled hard Tuesday night before dropping a 69-56 home floor decision to the second place Sullivan Heights Stars. The loss leaves them at 1-5 in the South Fraser AAAA Zone’s Southwest Division with just two games remaining next week against Earl Marriott and Semiahmoo.
The team is offensively challenged and must rely on its defence most nights to compete.
“If we don’t hold teams to around 50 points or under it’s going to be tough. The encouraging thing is I have three kids in Grade 10 and another six in Grade 11,” said head coach Rod Salas.
Among them is impressive 6-foot-6 Connor Rerup — a Grade 10 transfer from St. Georges.
The problem is Salas needs about four or five more similar players to be a contender in a tier for the province’s largest schools. It’s why the veteran Vancouver firefighter and volunteer coach is taking a hard look at the overall program and what can be done to move forward.
The SDSS alumni was an outstanding athlete himself who actually grew up in Ladner and came to the school to play football. He also thrived in lacrosse and on the basketball court.
In today’s world of specialized training in youth sports, it’s rare to find multi-sport athletes able to play at a high-level for a number of teams.
The Sun Devils don’t have one player from their top ranked football team playing basketball but their impact would likely be minimal with no extra time to work on their game.
The good news is SDSS probably has more kids playing basketball than ever before with a Grade 9 boys team up and running too. Salas would just like to see some extra work being done at the younger ages to prepare them for what’s ahead.
“The skill level in today’s game is off the charts. At the end of the day you need programs where they are getting skill development at that early age. By the time I get them, in Grades 11-12, I can’t be wasting my time teaching them how to do a bounce pass,” said Salas.
“That’s what we really have to start thinking about is getting some skill development (sessions) for Grades 8, 9 and 10 boys and girls twice a week. Make it fun for them and maybe this does become their main sport. I’ve got four guys that this is their main sport. The rest are coming and going.”
Salas has the ideal candidate to run such a skills program in former SDSS standout Dustin Triano whose collegiate career included time at powerhouse Gonzaga University.
He is now helping out the senior boys team at his old school but it would have to be more than just a volunteer position to run such a program.
Salas enjoyed plenty of success as a lacrosse coach — guiding a special group a number of years ago that included future standout players Andrew McBride, Gary Bining and Thomas Haydon. They became the first-ever Delta team to play at the old intermediate “A” level. He is now thinking of a similar approach for basketball.
“I know there are coaches at quad-A that took kids in Grade 8 and developed them over the five years. Right now, we’re spending too much time with the basic things. Instead, get to them when they are younger and go straight through with them,” he added.
“Our gyms are full at lunch. There has never been more playing than right now. All I want them to do is practice a little bit in the off-season then during basketball season this is the sport that they (are really focused on).”
