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SportsOakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2010 35 Going to the Next Level By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Seven and a half! Adam Nicholson shouts out. His players continue running lengths of the court. Finishing quickly has its benefits, buying players a brief rest with their hands on their knees as they wait for their team- mates to finish. Twelve and a half! Nicholson yells. Right to the line. You cant cheat in my gym. And so it continues. Somewhere around 80 lengths, one of the players calls to his teammate. See this stuff were doing, he says. Its because of your jersey. Indeed, the whole team is being punished because a cou- ple of players have forgotten their practice jerseys. Its more than 20 min- utes into practice before they are finished running. Forgetting a practice jersey may seem like a small transgression, but Nicholson doesnt see it that way. Its not just basketball, says the Next Level Basketball Academy coach. Forgetting your practice jersey is like forgetting your uniform for work. Im trying to instill owner- ship, taking responsibility for your own actions. Its preparing them for the world. Workouts are deadly Ask the players to describe Nicholsons workouts and the answers sound equally bru- tal. Intense, says Matthew Augustine. Exhausting, adds Brandon Bilbija. Deadly, says Jordan Clarke. Its like tor- ture. Nicholsons workouts can go on for hours. They involve flipping tires, running up hills, tossing heavy bags off the backboard, pushups, pushups and more pushups. Sometimes youre thinking, When is this going to end? says Ryan Augustine. But at the end of the day, you know its going to pay off. Its making us faster, stronger. We feel like in the fourth quarter, when the other team is on its last breath, were a step ahead. You can jump higher and everything feels much easi- er. And the results have justified their hard work. Next Level became the first Canadian team to win the open high school division at the US nationals in Erie, Pennsylvania in the summer. That earned the team an invitation to the Mission Prep Classic in Los Angeles and the Las Vegas Prep Classic in December. Both tournaments draw college recruiters from across the country. Thats Nicholsons reason for starting Next Level, to get Canadian players scholarships while still being able to play in Canada before departing for college or univer- sity. Next Level is similar to Findlay Prep, a well-known pro- gram in Nevada which has three players from the Greater Toronto Area on its roster. Nicholson was coaching summer teams and running basketball clinics and camps but was dismayed that many of the countrys best players were leaving Canada to attend prep schools in the U.S. He thought a local pro- gram similar to those in the U.S. would help keep players here. Though Nicholson says he didnt model Next Level after Findlay, there are similari- ties. The program is affiliated with a school, which the players attend. In Next Levels case, its White Oaks Secondary School, from which Nicholson graduated. Adam talked about what he was hoping to achieve, said White Oaks principal John Stieva. Some of the young men need to earn credits or supplement their course. They have a dream of going to the U.S. on a schol- arship and hopefully we can help them with the goal of pursuing that to the best of their ability. Stieva said the players have been helpful in assisting with the schools basketball team that plays in the vocational sports league. The staff has been phenomenal, said Nicholson. White Oaks brought us in with open arms. Another similarity to Findlay is that Nicholson has rented a house that many of the players live in. While having nine 18- and 19-year-olds living alone could be cause for concern, Nicholson is every bit as strict with rules off the court. Players must sign a form to abide by the teams rules and guidelines. There is a schedule for household chores such as vacuuming and washing dishes, and coaches drop by frequently to ensure players NO PAIN, NO GAIN: Next Level Basketball Academy coach Adam Nicholson (above) runs a strict training pro- gram, something that Leke Bankole (right) can attest to. PHOTOS BY MICHELLE SIU / OAKVILLE BEAVER Basketball academy at White Oaks Secondary is designed to help players get scholarships Im trying to instill ownership, taking responsibility for your own actions. Its preparing them for the world. Next Level coach Adam Nicholson See Players page 39