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Former Halkirk elementary student holds basketball camp in Stettler

Doan Reimer, a recent Alberta Sports Hall of Fame inductee, gives back to youth
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Head coach Leighann Doan Reimer demonstrates shooting skills to the afternoon group. (Kevin j Sabo photo)

By Kevin Sabo For the Independent

The squeaking of shoes on the gym floor, the sounds of basketballs bouncing and of kids yelling echoed through the otherwise deserted hallways of the Stettler school during the week following Canada Day.

Camp Teckla tipped off for the 22nd time on July 2 with 150 kids from all over central Alberta descending on the gyms at the Stettler school.

“We’re doing something right,” said Head Coach Leighann Doan Reimer of the camp. “We average 150 kids a year.”

More than 3,000 kids have taken part in the camp since it started over two decades ago and sees kids from all over the region including some from as far away as Calgary, and it continues to be a big draw. The administrator of the camp, Julie Siemens, credits the coaching for the continuing return of the kids.

“Leighann and I were very impressed with the coaches,” said Siemens. “I’m impressed with the calibre of the coaches this year.”

The coaches for the 2018 version of the camp are a mix of old and new under the guidance of recent Alberta Sports Hall of Fame inductee Doan Reimer, who started out playing basketball in a Halkirk elementary school, which no longer exists.

Doan Reimer, along with coaches Chris Matts and Kaitlyn Poapst, has been the core of Camp Teckla for the last several years. Doan Reimer has been the head coach since the camp started except for two years where she played professionally in France. Matts began as a camper then transitioned to coaching, missing only one year when he was sidelined due to a knee injury.

Coaches Brendan Aspenes, Jamie Ternes, Sydney Poapst and Tiana Gamroth are all in their first year coaching this year, although none are new to the camp. Aspenes and Ternes each spent eight years as campers before coming back to coach, and Sydney Poapst, being the daughter of one of the original coaches, has spent her entire life involved in the camp. Gamroth has taken part in the camp for several years as well and grew up in Teckla’s hometown of Halkirk.

David McComish, another new addition to the coaching roster, hasn’t been involved in Camp Teckla before but is a William E. Hay Wildcat alumnus and joined the camp as a highly skilled teacher who has spent many summers at other camps.

While Doan Reimer and Siemens still have a passion for the sport of basketball, their involvement in the camp is going to end sooner rather than later. “Right now, Leighann and I agreed to just do five years at the time.” Said Siemens, about her and Doan Reimer’s role with the camp. Siemens and Doan Reimer took the reins on the camp two years ago, after Teckla Anderson’s grandparents, who originally started the camp to honour their granddaughter, stepped away.

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Head coach Leighann Doan Reimer demonstrates shooting skills to the afternoon group. Kevin j Sabo photo
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Head coach Leighann Doan Reimer demonstrates shooting skills to the afternoon group. Kevin j Sabo photo
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Head coach Leighann Doan Reimer demonstrates shooting skills to the afternoon group. Kevin J. Sabo photo
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Coach Chris Matts (middle front in grey) is lining up the group prior to some afternoon skills practice. Kevin J Sabo photo
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The Grade 8-9 group practice skills under the direction of coaches David McComish and Tiana Gamroth. Kevin J Sabo photo