‘I never forgot that experience’

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While Celaire was at Rochester, he and his team took home second in the National Small Conference Athletic Association Championships.

It was during his off-season with the University of Regina in 1997, when Rough Riders chaplain and Athletes in Action Regina director Harold reached out to him. Through Athletes in Action, Celaire got his first taste of coaching.

“The experience of going to towns and small towns, seeing the impact of those programs in the community… that’s what did it for me,” Celaire shared. “I never forgot that experience.”

Celaire also worked as a youth minister in Winnipeg from 2002 to 2017, directing summer camps and local recreation activities, as well as mentoring youth with an emphasis on character development and leadership.

Beyond the city

After little BALLERS got it’s initial start last year, Celaire found himself once again looking at all of the towns in Manitoba. In them, he saw a need for younger kids to be able to learn about basketball.

“We had a feeling that the interest [in Neepawa] would be good for it. I’m aware of the Filipino community there, for example, and they have such a great love of the sport,” Celaire enthused. “And, to my knowledge, there wasn’t a program like this that could be considered early childhood development for kids in those age ranges to participate in. That’s what led me to investigate a little further and see if there was a possibility of having a location there.”

Celaire was also encouraged by the mother of former Neepawa resident Dylan Holmberg. Dylan’s mother, Sharon, works at the Neepawa Hospital and has a daughter-in-law who works for little BALLERS. Celaire explained that Sharon had stopped by one of the clinics to visit and, upon seeing it in action, encouraged Celaire to pursue the program in Neepawa.

“That was the initial spark for me saying ‘Hm. Well, maybe I’ll go there,’” Celaire enthused. “And I’m glad I did, because the response has been really, really good.”

Celaire has been canvassing the community to gauge interest, collaborating with Neepawa’s Yvonne Sisley, who is now a coach, regional director and program coordinator for little BALLERS within the town.

“When Chad contacted me with hopes of bringing little BALLERS to Neepawa, I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of it,” said Sisley. “It’s such a great program!”

Working together, Celaire and Sisley have organized a free day for

Aug. 12 at the gym in Hazel M. Kellington school. The day allows for parents to enroll their children and see the program at work first hand and decide if they’d like to register for the full program. Currently, the full program is being planned for the fall and would take place every Saturday at the same location.

Sisley will be aiding in the training of staff, with plans to step back afterwards and focus on her regional coordinator duties.

“Our goal is to hire maybe seven or eight coaches in Neepawa,” said Celaire. “We like to keep a high teacher-to-student ratio. So, generally, we have one teacher to five kids.”

Celaire added, “Our coaches also normally have an interest in childhood education, or have been a phys-ed teacher or a kinesiology major from university. So they’ve got a quality of coaching that is very good. We really stress the importance of encouragement, too.”

In the near future, Celaire also hopes to start up a location within Brandon.

Anyone interested in enrolling a child, learning more about the program, or to apply and become part of the coaching staff can do so via www.littleballersbasketball.com. Individuals are also welcome to reach out to Celaire via info@littleballersbasketball.com.