The basketball camp at Mistissini saw about 90 youth attending this year. At the end of it every one of the participants went home with a trophy. “We want all the kids to feel like winners,” said Anthony MacLeod, one of the event’s organizers.
MacLeod explained that the camp was not about superstars but about having fun and learning about basketball. “It’s about working together.” Two members of the Dr. James Naismith Basketball Foundation, John Gosset and Jeff Mace, came up to Mistissini bringing equipment and expertise for the basketball camp. One of the parents remarked that this camp wouldn’t have such a success without the participation of the Mistissini police.
One of the Mistissini’s basketball camp instructors was Titus Channer. It was his first time visiting Mistissini, an experience he said was a rewarding one. Channer’s home community of Waswanipi must be proud of him. Channer will be the first Cree to play pro basketball and he has won numerous athletic awards while at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.
Macleod said he was glad to have a Cree instructor of Channer’s caliber at the camp and felt that I should take an opportunity to interview him. I did.
The Nation: So how did you end up coming to Mistissini?
Titus Channer: They invited me down, as well as my teammate, Steve Maga. My coach, Chris Dooley, is here too. They brought us down here to help out and try to teach these kids basketball and other life skills. It’s a good thing to give back to the kids so we have to be here.
I hear you’ve won some awards?
I graduated in Math this year and I’ve finished university. This year I’ve won the CIU Basketball Player of the Year Award -Canadian University Basketball Player of the Year. I also won Canadian CIU Male Athlete of the Year. All the athletes in university picked me. That’s called the Howard Macker Award.
This year in September I’m playing pro. I signed a contract to play pro in England foreight months. I’ll be playing for the Chester Jets just outside of Manchester. The money’s good. They’re supplying me with a car and an apartment.
Is this the world basketball league or something like that?
Well, each city has a pro team or league, so I’m playing in the pro English league. There are about 13 teams there. There are teams from the Spanish league and Germany. There are different divisions, first, second and third. The first division is the top one and that’s the one I’m playing in. So that’s pretty good. My goal is to make the national team next year and hopefully represent Canada in the Olympics.
When you said you’re teaching the kids more than basketball, that you’re teaching them life skills, what kind are you teaching?
Well, with basketball there is the team aspect involving communication, trust and working as a group. In all the drills we’ve stressed that. You have to communicate and there’s no “I,” there’s the team. You
work as a team together either to win a game or finish a drill. We try to stress that aspect as much as possible. You’ve got to work together and you can’t go out there and just think of yourself, you know what I mean? That’s the thing we try to do here and hopefully that’ll carry over into other aspects of the kid’s lives.
Have you ever played InanyoftheCree tournaments?
No, I’ve been asked to play by people in Waswanipi as a sort of ringer, I guess, [laughter]… But every time there were other things going on. I want to play, though, in one of the tournaments.
What do you think of the Increased Interest In basketball In the Cree communities?
It’s grown so much over the years (due to teams like) the Raptors and the Grizzlies.Basketball has grown not just in the south but also in the north. Look at all the kidshere, about 90 or so on the floor. I didn’t have an idea that basketball was that big uphere. So I guess the influences have
come from the NBA and university ball as well as the Canadian basketball scene. It’s gotten bigger and I think it’ll just get bigger as time goes on.
I think it’s a good thing for kids because as I said it involves teamwork. It helps to get you in or keep you in shape. It helps to develop you mentally and physically. You become able to play at a higher level so that improves your game and your life. That’s what I think.
Anything else you would like to add?
It’s fun to see all these kids who don’t have too much up here. When they’re playing they don’t think about it. They’re just having fun. Native people have been dealing with the hard times they’ve had. They just learn to live with it and try to move on.
The kids here don’t even think about it. They’re just having fun and not worrying aboutanything else. They’re trying hard and give it everything they’ve got. That’s one thingI noticed about the kids here. That’s good and that’s something I enjoyed seeing.
