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are upholding their responsibilities. We have to be on time for school; the house has to be clean, says Ryan Augustine, who, along with Next Level teammate Keon Stephenson, won a silver medal at OFSAA with S c a r b o r o u g h s Blessed Mother Teresa. Its teaching them maturity, Nicholson says. Its all the things theyre going to have to do when they go out on their own. And because Nicholson is mak- ing a commitment to helping them reach their goal of getting a scholarship hes taken a year off from his teaching job to help get the program established the players feel they must take it equally as serious. The way I see it, this is my nine to five, says Ryans younger brother Matthew Augustine, though in reality its closer to five to nine. Players are up between 6 and 7 a.m. to get ready for school. After school, they are picked up by a bus that takes them to St. Pauls United Church at 4 p.m., where they practice and train for three to four hours. When theyre done, its on to homework, says Clarke, who played basketball at Assumption in Burlington after moving to Ontario from Nova Scotia. Its pret- ty tiring at the end of the day. Then you wake up and go back to school. Its going to give us a lot of opportunities for the future, though. Skills clinic to raise money Nicholson has lined up a busy schedule of tournaments seven in the United States in the months of November and December, all with the designs of getting the players seen by as many schools as possible. The most difficult part for Nicholson has been financing his endeavour. Players pay a fee, the team fundraises for tournament expenses and Nicholson pays other expenses out of his own pocket as he continues to work to attract sponsors for the program (adidas supplied the team with uniforms). The team has held car washes and other fundraisers. To help raise money for the Las Vegas and California tournaments, Nicholson will be holding a skills clinic Friday, Nov. 12 a P.D. Day for local schools from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at St. Pauls United Church. The cost is $50 and lunch will be provided. Anyone interested can contact Nicholson at 905-802- 7623 or at nextlevelbasketball@live.com. Nicholsons efforts have not gone unno- ticed by his players. Hes so passionate about coaching, says Bilbija, a 6-foot-10 power forward/centre, who credits Nicholson for his rapid development in the game. Bilbija only started getting serious about the game in the past year. Prior to that, his hoops experience consisted mainly of games with friends at the Y. I was really bad at the time. Then I started training with him every day in the summer, says Bilbija. He worked with Nicholson for two hours every day and is now starting to garner inter- est from colleges and universities. Like Bilbija, the team has seemingly come from nowhere to beat well-established U.S. teams. Nicholson hopes to continue that suc- cess at the exclusive, invitational tournament in Las Vegas, mainly to raise the profile of his players, but also for national pride. I feel we can do well. I think we size up well against some of the best teams in the States if we go in compete hard and keep our heads on straight, Nicholson says. Its defi- nitely a big opportunity, not just for the pro- gram but for the country, to show that in Canada we can play and not just show up, but show up and compete. MILTON HEIGHTS RACING CLUB NOVEMBER 5, 6 & 7 Fri 6-10, Sat 9-5, Sun 9-3 Location: Country Heritage Park (Gambrel Barn) off of Tremaine Rd., Milton ... just north of Glen Eden FREE ADMISSION & PARKING Amazing Deals on New & Used Equipment! HUGE SKI & SNOWBOARD SWAP I bonus for 2010: Glen eden buy one - get one free lift ticket coupon with $250 merchandise... buy more... get more! *See website for details THOUSANDS OF ITEMS! Check out www.miltonheights.com or www.SuperSkiSwap.com for more details 905-690-1202 37 Friday , O ctober 29, 2010 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m Players treat Next Level program as if its their job Continued from page 37 Its pretty tiring at the end of the day. Then you wake up and go back to school. Its going to give us a lot of opportunities for the future, though. Next Level player Jordan Clarke QUICK PROGRESS: Brandon Bilbija makes a layup during a drill at one of Next Level Basketball Academys recent workout sessions. The 6-foot-10 power forward/centre began seriously playing basketball only a year ago but is already gar- nering interest from several col- leges and universi- ties. MICHELLE SIU / OAKVILLE BEAVER U15 boys soccer team earns promotion to OYSL for 2011 A four-championship season for the Oakville Soccer Clubs under-15 boys A team was recently comple- mented with promotion to the Ontario Youth Soccer League for next year. The U15 boys lost just once in 27 games, allow- ing nine goals in the process, to earn the pro- motion. The team won the South Region Soccer League Elite League and Cup titles, the Nike Challenge Cup tournament in Ohio and The Score Showcase tournament in North Carolina in 2010. Members of the squad are Ramy Ayoub, Nick McVicar, Braden Culver, Kieran Doyle-Davis, Lucas Harper, Max Preccanin, Mike Bryla, Stefan Robinson, David Whalen, Draven Stokes, Arsenije Japalak, August Habesch, A.J. Martins, Milan Beader, Kamil Tkaczuk, Luke Sewell and Seb Mentel. Mentel was the teams MVP this past season. Mark Worton, Andy Culver and Goran Beader coach the team, and Angela Preccanin is the manager. 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