Basketball coach gives a little back

Mike Busch is the kind of guy who doesn’t forget who his friends are.
So when the coach of the under-17 regional girls’ basketball squad was allowed to use the new Educational Resource Centre at Couchiching for team practices on weekends last season, he remembered to repay the favour.
Busch’s regional team, which for reasons of geography plays in Manitoba, finished third at the provincial championships in Winnipeg back in May, and since he had the summer off, he decided to show his gratitude to the people of Couchiching by conducting a week-long basketball camp last week.
For Busch, also the head coach of the Muskie senior girls’ basketball team, the decision to donate his time was a no-brainer.
“The people here were kind enough to loan us this facility for our regional team, so we decided to return the favour this way,” he noted.
And the people responded.
Nearly two dozen youngsters—both from on- and off-reserve—signed up and benefitted from Busch’s experience for three hours every afternoon.
He also brought along six of his team members to help with the drills, skills, and spills on the hardwood as kids from as young as nine took advantage of his offer.
Having taken care of that little detail, Busch now has turned to the more serious business of next season.
He said both his regional team and the Muskies once again should prove to be a force to be reckoned with—and he’s counting on the extra year of maturity to build on May’s showing in Winnipeg.
“We were the youngest team at that tournament and we still finished third,” he noted.
The nucleus of that team also was the heart of his Muskies’ squad, which won NorWOSSA gold before falling to Thunder Bay in the NWOSSAA final last season.
This year, Busch intends to go all the way to the all-Ontarios.
“We’ve lost some players to graduation, but we have some good young ones coming up to replace them,” he noted as he watched some of those putting the youngsters through their paces last week at Couchiching.
“We’re going to be a strong girls’ team this year,” he predicted.