(Photo: TH Sports Facebook)
Billet families are needed for a new first of its kind basketball program in the region.
506 Elite Prep will launch in September.
“It’s going to be a team of athletes from around the region that will train out of Moncton,” explained President of TH Sports Andrew Trites. “We will play in what’s called the junior prep circuit out of Oshawa, Ontario, and the platinum prep circuit. It’s called the playground facility. So, basically, it would be considered similar to say, Midget AAA hockey or the Quebec Major Junior lLague. Similar to the Wildcats, where you bring in players to play in a high end league. ”
He added, “Players will come from across the Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. It’s mostly kids going into grades 9 and 10. We are looking at whether we can do a senior model as well, which would be grade 11 and 12. So we are looking for basketball families and other folks in the region who would see the value of investing into these young athletes.”
Trites mentioned they are looking to have the athletes in Moncton for the start of the school year, so in early September, “Our program will finish up at the end of March, first of April. So, we would like the billet family to have a space for the athlete. Obviously, the billet family would provide meals. So making sure that breakfast and lunch, for school and a nutritious meal for dinner. Safe environment is obviously the most important. And then secondly, providing a space for them to have their to have their own room. And then make sure they get to their events and their practices on time.”
Billet families will be compensated for providing to these athletes, but there will be a process before they are accepted.
This program is the first of its kind for the province of New Brunswick.
“A huge piece of what we need to make this successful is we really do need families, we need the community support. We appreciate anyone that’s even remotely interested in contacting us just to learn a little bit and see if this would be a fit for them or their family,” Trites says.
