REGINA — A Regina organization is helping youth on and off the basketball court.
FN Basketball Inc. teaches youth basketball and life lessons through cultural teachings.
“This is not only about basketball, but [also] trying to build relationships and community,” said Daniel Stonechild, founder of FN Basketball Inc.
Stonechild helps train youth from Grade 5 until high school through camps and sessions, trying to build consistency in their basketball and life routines.
Growing up, Stonechild said basketball helped steer him on the right path.
“A lot of my family were all gang-affiliated. Everybody was dealing and selling drugs, and basketball kept me from being involved there.“
Realizing he could also steer the next generation on the right path, Stonechild started FN Basketball Inc. in 2021.
Many of the players in the group are from Scott Collegiate, where Stonechild teaches.
One of those players is Terreign Blind, a coach for FN Basketball Inc.
Blind admitted before joining the program, he would skip school and not focus on completing his assignments.
Some of his other close friends also started joining gangs.
“This started making me feel anxious. [This] was something I didn't want to be a part of.”
Once Blind joined FN Basketball Inc., his grades and basketball skills improved.
“This inspired me to coach and help Grade 5 to Grade 8’s show up consistently and improve themselves.”
Going forward, Stonechild hopes to do more camps at reserves.
“There's a lot of really talented youth on reserves, but they just don't have the access to get here, so we want to go to them to train them up.”
Stonechild also hopes to bring a U-19 Alberta Indigenous Games to help recent high school graduates potentially get scouted and have the opportunity to play in college.
