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By Ottawa Sports Pages, for Louis-Riel Rebelles
They made plenty of noise playing against the big boys in their debut season on the National Senior Circuit, but in the end, there was no place quite like home for members of the Louis-Riel Rebelles Boys’ Basketball Academy.
“The guys really enjoyed playing in our gym in front of their home fans,” highlights Academy Director Joshua Caissie, whose players loved feeling the energy from their friends and peers in a packed house. “We always talk about that as one of the highlights of the season and I think that’s something they really appreciated that they’ll probably never forget.”
For an Academy that has the most gym and training time out of all prep programs, team cohesion is of paramount importance to the Rebelles. The players’ continued hunger and motivation – now that they’ve moved into off-season practice, weight training and recovery – serves as evidence of the team’s strong bond and atmosphere.
“There was a lot of positivity with the guys. They’re happy to be here every day and they’re working hard,” adds Caissie, who leads the program alongside Head Coach Vincent Dufort, a past All-Canadian at McGill University. “It was just a good team culture, so that really helped make it a successful season all in all.”
Also helping to fuel the fire was the Rebelles’ on-court achievements. Louis-Riel did try to limit their travel by playing solid local teams in the Ottawa Super League, part of their schedule of roughly 35 games in total.
The Rebelles won their first tournament in Kingston at the Frontenac Invitational, and they exceeded their own expectations as rookies on the Toronto-based National Senior Circuit.
Louis-Riel lost three of its first four games, but then prevailed by two points in their next match to kickstart a run of six wins in a row. Playing a series of weekend games on the Circuit that featured 46 teams overall, the Rebelles finished eighth in the regular season points standings with an 8-4 record.
Louis-Riel beat King’s Christian 68-67 to start the Circuit’s championship weekend in March, then lost to the eventual champions from Simcoe United in pool play, and finished with a solid win over Tri-City.
Statement victories along the way over the likes of King’s, Top Notch Prep and Crestwood helped announce loud and clear that Louis-Riel can be a real force on the Canadian high school basketball stage.
“We had some big wins over some names that are really well-known in Toronto,” signals Caissie. “I find we’re being included more and more in those conversations about who the top programs are, which is really nice.”
More than wins and losses, Caissie was pleased to see the experience his Rebelles gained from being involved in many close games against highly competitive opponents.
“Those situations are kind of tough until you live them and maybe lose one or two to kind of figure out how to put it together. Now they’ve got more confidence, they know that they’re been there before and this is what they can anticipate,” he explains, noting that players were given the chance to learn in those moments.
“We don’t compromise the long-term development of our guys, because at the end of the day, that’s what we want for them. We said we would be a development program so that they can go to the next level, and I think that’s really what we did this year.”
Big team bond for group with 8 grads
Teaching life skills through sport and ensuring students’ academic success are at the heart of Louis-Riel high school’s innovative Sports-Études program, and a lot of those lessons shone through in the support and encouragement the student-athletes displayed together.
“We really were a team,” Caissie underlines. “Lots of guys stepped up throughout the year, and I feel like most of our victories were really team-oriented in that sense.
“But I think the best part about our team this year is that they just all genuinely liked to be around each other and they really had that commitment towards one another.”
Several graduating Rebelles will now be carrying their connections on to the next level. Jean-Luc Cubahiro and Luke Leger presented themselves as a “package deal” and the duo are now set to join the Algoma University Thunderbirds to play U Sports basketball in Sault Ste. Marie.
Abdoul Sorne and Beni Kabongo will also remain teammates with the La Cité Coyotes, while Stéphane Dang will play CÉGEP college basketball and Tyrell Wallace will join a prep school program in North Carolina.
“That’s great news for our program,” indicates Caissie. “I think it really shows the development that goes on here, and it also shows everyone that you can get recruited out of Louis-Riel. It’s just been a really great year.”
With eight graduating players, it also means there are exciting opportunities available for players to join the Louis-Riel Academy next year. Recruiting efforts are underway, and the Rebelles will host open tryouts on May 22-23 from 7-9 p.m. at Louis-Riel.
Interested players can reach out via the Academy’s Instagram page, by contacting the school or filling out the ID session sign-up form.
“We take the best players, but within that are also the ones who demonstrate potential that we can develop to an elite level,” notes Caissie, who seeks talent and athleticism in new players, as well as coachability and a positive attitude that can contribute to their excellent program culture. “We took a really big jump playing the National Senior Circuit, and hopefully we can do a little more of that next year as well.”
Learn more about the Louis-Riel Boys’ Basketball Academy by downloading the brochure below, and find out about other streams in the Louis-Riel Sports-Études program here.
