Pictou County Lightning Basketball Association president Peter Douthwright can hardly wait for an influx of young players spurred on by the Toronto Raptors dramatic NBA championship win.
“We’ll welcome all of them. We’re limited only by our number of coaches and our facilities so we’ll make as many teams as we have coaches to handle and play as much as space allows,” he said.
A longtime Raptors fan, Douthwright and his family were in Toronto for Game 5 and the championship parade following Game 6.
“The atmosphere was incredible. I left my hotel to walk out into the street at the end of Game 5 and listen to all the fans already focusing on Game 6.”
With game tickets for the family just a bit beyond their budget the Douthwrights walked toward Jurassic Park in advance of Game 5.
“The closer we got, the busier it got. We turned around and hurried back to the hotel so we didn’t miss any of the game on television.”
Douthwright grew up playing on outdoor courts in St. Stephen, N.B.
“We played whoever turned up, all sizes, all abilities and we played a lot.”
He made his high school team and went on to play for St. Thomas University from 1996 to 2000.
“I was a small forward mostly but I played a lot of positions, even point guard at times but I was never much of a shooter.”
He later helped coach the St. Thomas women’s basketball team for eight years.
When the beverage company he works for offered him a promotion that meant moving to Pictou County, his first two phone calls were to a realtor and to Allan Floyd, the founding president of the Lightning program.
“I have two daughters, now 14 and 11, who were growing up in Fredericton and this was their first move. I needed to find them a link to the new community and basketball was it.”
He was immediately encouraged to attend a Lightning organizational meeting.
“I say basketball was the girls’ link but it was a vital link for me, too. At my first Lightning meeting I looked around at a sea of strangers until I spotted Robbie MacGregor, a Lightning coach who I remembered from playing against UNB.”
Douthwright’s years of coaching at the university level and in the community, have taught him an appreciation of player and personal development.
"Basketball is great exercise and teaches kids to develop skills and discipline as well as teamwork and leadership. It often takes kids on the road together and in my experience that’s where great memories are made.”
In the past two years with Douthwright as president, the program has continued to manage more than 400 hoops enthusiasts.
“I took over a program that is based on great vision and a great foundation. Some of our teams are very competitive and others just give kids the chance to have fun on the court.”
As well as a games program, Lightning also offers regular skills sessions.
“We’ve also got a Junior NBA program for 75 kids in primary to Grade 2 with Shane Cormier and Shane Hampton as coaches. Passing and dribbling is a ways down the road for these kids but we want them to have fun so they’ll consider staying with it.”
Lightning’s actual beginnings go back to a group of players, parents and coaches at AG Baillie in 2012 and 2013 but the program officially got off the ground in 2014 with 77 kids registered. By 2016 registration passed 400 and in 2017 it hit 471. For the first season or two Lightning president Allan Floyd raced from gym to gym with bags of balls because equipment was so scarce.
“Of late we’ve had about 40 additional kids each year. Last year we added 14 new coaches and we have 60 volunteers, including 16 players who are also junior coaches. Our growth has been entirely organic, all by word of mouth from participants or parents,” said Douthwright.
Lightning is now the third largest club in Nova Scotia, the largest two being in the metro area.
“We are the largest rural club in the Maritimes, I’m proud to say,” added Douthwright.
In keeping with the commitment of Lightning’s first executive, Douthwrtght and his board of seven directors are keeping the program accessible to all with registration still at $50. Half goes to Basketball Nova Scotia for registration and liability insurance while the other half goes directly to equipment upgrades.
Douthwright said part of his job as president has been to bring more people into the organization, giving them specific responsibilities.
“As we grow, scheduling at various facilities has become a major job as we use up to 70 hours a week of gym time for about 27 teams. We’re happy to have Barry Geddes as gym coordinator and he is the bridge between all the facilities and all the teams.”
Many area elementary and high schools, as well as NSCC, regularly provide space but with interest in volleyball rising and pickleball increasingly attracting players, space is getting scarce. As a result, Lightning, PC Athletics, the Town of New Glasgow and organizers of the Johnny Miles events have banded together over the past year to push for the construction of a multi-purpose fieldhouse on property adjacent to North Nova Education Centre.
“We’re at the feasibility study stage and we’re looking to eventually be able to host and accommodate full track and field events as well as professional teams and camps.”
Douthwright envisions three basketball courts ringed by a running track.
“A fieldhouse would certainly be an asset in terms of healthy community living and would compliment, rather than duplicate, our other facilities. We’ve got a strong sports history in the county so there’s great potential for increased economic activity in the restaurants and hotels.”
With the last Lightning spring season game just wrapped up and the equipment gathered in, Douthwright is taking Raptors’ point guard Fred VanVleet’s advice to fans to spend the summer savouring the team’s historic victory.
“Kwahi Leonard was amazing throughout, but when you consider basketball develops character as well as skill on the court, it is Kyle Lowry I appreciate. He was the engine of the team, always leading by example, always professional on and off the court. He is a We player, not a Me player and that is something we try to instill in all our young players.”
Rosalie MacEachern is a Stellarton resident and freelance writer. She seeks out people who work behind the scenes on hobbies or jobs that they love the most. If you know someone you think she should profile in an upcoming article, she can be reached at [email protected]
