Home »
Running Club members attend Montana basketball clinic
On October 5, members of the Ktunaxa Running Club travelled to Pablo, Montana to attend the Salish Kootenai College Basketball Clinic. Based on age and skill level, participants were put through a day of drills and skill testing events.
Organizers anticipated 150 registrants, but were pleasantly surprised when 300 youth and approximately 900 parents showed for the event.
Athletes and attendees were from Montana, Idaho, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan.
While there for the camp, most admit being drawn there to see special guest Shoni Shimmel.
Shimmel is a Native American from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon. She is a graduate from the University of Louisville and in 2014 was drafted to the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was selected as the eighth pick in the first round of the WNBA. The Atlanta Dream player was voted onto the WNBA All-star team and earned the MVP Trophy.
Joining Shoni at the clinic was her sister Jude Shimmel. Jude is a senior on the Louisville Cardinals basketball team. Accompanying the Shimmel sisters were five generations of their family.
In Shimmel’s youth presentation, she emphasized the following: Stay in School, graduate from school, stay active, practice hard, train hard, no smoking, no drugs, no alcohol and most of all Listen to your Parents!!
The running club was able to attend the event through partnerships with the Cranbrook RCMP Aboriginal Policing Unit and the Ktunaxa Nation Council. Making the trip for the Ktunaxa were Jordon Sam, Logan Casimer and Keiden Johnson.
“While our running club members train for their races individually, it is also important for the club to support the youth in their school sporting events. Seeing Shoni Shimmel is once in a lifetime,” said Eldene Stanley, a Cranbrook RCMP Aboriginal Policing Unit constable who attended the event.
Above photo, left to right: Shoni Shimmel, Keiden Johnson, Logan Casimer, Jude Shimmel.
