Raptors a slam dunk at Kateri

Kateri School’s gymnasium was host to more than just gym class last Friday morning, as the NBA’s Toronto Raptors came to the community for a basketball clinic.

The nine Raptors in attendance included Canadian Olympic team captain Kelly Olynyk, 2023 Raptors first-round pick Gradey Dick, and 2023 NBA champion Bruce Brown.

Elementary students, including players who represented Kahnawake in the First Nations Education Council (FNEC) games last May, participated in drills focused on fun ways of developing and practicing fundamental basketball skills.

These included shooting drills, layups, passing, and defense, and were given with the help of Raptors coaches, the players, and some guest coaches from Kahnawake.

One of those guest coaches was Brandon Bordeau, who coaches basketball for Kahnawake Survival School (KSS) and has played basketball for over 20 years.

“It’s good to see the enthusiasm for the sport,” said Bordeau, who is also Kahnawake Survival School’s athletics director.

He said that historically, basketball has not been one of the more popular youth sports in the community - especially compared to lacrosse or hockey. But, with numbers already growing, Bordeau thinks this could lead to a basketball boom in town.

“To have the Raptors come here, I think will generate some buzz,” said Bordeau. “Kids might think about playing basketball next year or this year because of the fact that they’ve had the opportunity to meet the Raptors.”

When the Raptors arrived at Kateri, they were greeted with a stomp dance sung by the school’s traditional singing group, in which the team’s players and coaches joined.

“They were all doing the dance. They were all singing. They were all repeating what they heard. I think right there that shows enthusiasm,” said Bordeau.

The Raptors’ visit to the community was organized by Kahnawake Shakotiia’takehnhas Community Services (KSCS)’s Walter Whitebean, Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) chief Ryan Montour, the MCK’s Sports and Recreation Unit director Roiahtate Horn, and ex-MCK chief Harry Rice.

In October 2023, smoke dancers from Kahnawake were invited to perform at half-time of a Raptors preseason game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Bell Centre.

“Former chief Harry Rice and I were adamant that they had to come to Kahnawake. You have to come to meet our people,” said Montour.

Whitebean said they met with John Wiggins, the vice-president, organizational culture and inclusion for the Raptors to arrange the visit.

“He was definitely sincere, wanting to know who we are as people, who the players are in our community,” said Whitebean. “The Raptors organization really wants to know how we can kind expand the basketball community in our community, and how we can help each other.”

After months of meetings and back and forth, Whitebean said it was the Raptors who suggested the clinic.

The event was not open to everyone - only the chosen players as well as the Raptors players and staff were allowed at Kateri, along with members of the media.

“Because of the restriction on gym size and space and the amount of people that needed to be there to make it all happen, we had to figure out a way to fit the most athletes as possible,” said Whitebean. “So that was my role, to organize the local coaches and work with the schools and coaching staff.”

That is why the players who participated at the FNEC games were selected, according to Whitebean.

“If I would have put it out there and said to everyone ‘hey, we have a Toronto Raptors camp,’ 1,000 people would have showed up,” said Whitebean.

He found the whole experience to be even better than his expectations were.

“I know they had an extremely busy schedule,” said Whitebean. According to him, the team had other clinics, meet and greets, and other activities around Montreal during their training camp, on top of their daily practices and preparation for the upcoming season.

“They were doing all these things and for them to find a way to squeeze our community into their time was phenomenal,” said Whitebean.

Everyone in the gym seemed to be enjoying themselves, too.

Professionals and kids alike smiled and laughed as they ran the drills, with the coaches and the Raptors acting as coach, cheerleader, and teammate all at once.

Following the clinic, the Raptors answered some questions from the crowd, including how they get mentally ready before a game, and how to deal with failure on the court.

“The energy in this building is awesome. The kids will never forget this day,” said Montour. “It’s a great day for Kahnawake, and it’s a great day for our children.”

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