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A member of the blue team drives to the hoop last week at the Wildhawks basketball camp Getting put to the test n a playing surface Owhere the Toronto Raptors once roamed, 80 high school players from across the country pursued their own bigâ€"league dreams last week at RIM Park. The hopefuls were attending the first annual Waterloo Wildhawks Boys Invitational â€" Evaluation Camp. While the Wildhawks have hosted summer basketâ€" ball camps before, this was the first NCAA sanctioned camp they‘ve ever held, and one of only three of the speâ€" ciallyâ€"sanctioned camps held across Canada. So in addition to improvâ€" ing their basketball skills, the hopefuls were also looking to make an impression on a group of U.S. Division I colâ€" lege basketball coaches who made the trip from universiâ€" ties like Canisius in Buffalo to Colgate and Vermont to evaluate the talent. That exposure to U.S. schools, with the possibility of scholarship opportunities, attracted players from as far as Victoria, B.C. to the camp. Rajan Nirwan, 16, was the lone westâ€"coast participant at the camp and made the more than 4,000 kilometre trip because of that exposure to the U.S. colleges as well as By Bos VRBANAC Chronicle Staff the level of competition at "There‘s not very many great basketball camps out in B.C. that offer great skills development and great coaching, as well as the exposure to NCAA coaches," said Nirwan who plays both the point and twoâ€"guard for his Lambrick Park basketball team. "It‘s very competitive out here as well." Nirwan, whose main assets are his speed and his shooting ability, got interestâ€" ed in basketball by following the footsteps of his olderâ€"sisâ€" ter Pavan. In fact, it was his sister who got him interested in the camp, after she spotted an ad for it in a magazine. Once he got to the camp, Nirwan opened some eyes with his defensive abilities. "I love playing defence so that turned out to be a plus as well," he said. "Some guys just don‘t like to play defence." Nirwan also learned a bit about what it will take to play at the next level. â€" "The main thing with basketball if you want to get somewhere is your attitude," Said Nirwan. "That‘s someâ€" thing this camp emphasized each and every day. "The second thing is hard work and the goes hand in hand with attitude. With those two things your opportunities are limitless â€" you can go anywhere you Proof of that possibility were players like David Lisle and Mike Hanley, who had returned to the camp to proâ€" vide some instruction after returning from their first year playing basketball down south. from Wingham, suited up for Cornell University last year, while Hanley, from Peterborâ€" ough, played for Canisius. Lisle said the biggest difâ€" ference about playing high school basketball and makâ€" ing the jump to Division I college ball in the U.S. is the committment to the game. As soon as you sign up with a school they start to mould you both physically and mentally. That starts with diet and training programs, to learnâ€" ing the play book. The transition isn‘t easy, admitted Lisle, as he strugâ€" gled the first part of the seaâ€" son to get use to all the expectations. By the end of the season he was thriving on the challenge and was seeing significant playing His advice to the campers who would like to follow in his footsteps? "You‘ve got to be pre pared to work," said Lisle "There are no free rides." SPORTS red of always hearing I talk that their numbers were dropping, the Waterioo Minor Baseball Assoâ€" Day to rekindle a rivalry ciation decided to do someâ€" So they changed their tradiâ€" tional thinking to make the program more attractive to players and their parents. The latest example of that goes this Saturday at RIM Park as they host an Allâ€"Star House League tournament featuring Waterloo players from eight to 18 taking on their counterparts from Kitchener. Cup, donated by the viceâ€"presiâ€" dent of house league baseball, Cathy MacLachlan, who came up with the idea for the tournaâ€" something called the Labrys The idea was to keep the houseâ€"league boys involved with the game after their seaâ€" son ended in July with a special tournament in August. enough to play their Twinâ€"City rivals from Kitchener, the extraâ€"training will serve the boys well as tryouts for the association‘s allâ€"star teams start more value to the game at the house league level started three years ago when the players in Kitchener and Waterloo were separated along geographical lines. Those lines have become more ideological as the rivairy between the two centres has __ "We thought it would be a great idea to break them up and have the rivalry back," said this weekend as more than 200 players take part in the event K, pro golf fans in ‘Waterloo Region, pay attention. I‘ve got good news, bad news and good news regardâ€" ing the 2003 Bell Canadian Open scheduled for Sept. 1â€"7 In the same order as above, the good news is the premier event will be played at the magnificent Hamilton Golf Club in the former town of Ancaster, now officially a part Hamilton. Part of that good news is the fact that getting to this wonderful old Harry Coltâ€" designed par 70 course â€" the back way so to speak through Cambridge and Copetown â€" will be right around an hour Hamilton course a challenge from downtown Waterloo, considerably less than the time and hassle it takes to get to the Glen Abbey golf course in Oakville, the site of next year‘s 100th anniversary Bell They will also be playing for And if it wasn‘t incentive The move to add some By Bos VRBANAC that will feature three games for each team. The team in __ "We‘re trying to make it a day of baseball," said the assoâ€" ciation‘s president* Gary Kieswetter. "We‘ve got every level invoived from Rookie ball on up except Junior Rookie. _ "It gives them a taste of whiat it‘s like to play rep ball." points takes home the trophy. Cathy MacLachlan and Gary Kieswetter hold the Labrys Cup The bad news is also sort of a twoâ€"parter. The Hamilâ€" ton Golf Club course, built on its present site in 1916, is in the middle of a wonderful old Ancaster neighbourhood so offâ€"site parking â€" once you get there â€" is going to be interesting, to put it mildly. Apparently the Ancaster Fairgrounds will be utilized www.rwwaterloo.com Yolkswagen New & Cortified Preâ€"owned Cors seen its numbers climb back to more than 800 members, is hoping the day goes so well they can interest other centres in joining the event. "I‘m hoping in the future tres like Guelph or Cambridge to take part in it," said but I have no idea where that At a recent media day at the course â€" which is my second favourite layout in this province full of great tracks â€" Royal Canadian Golf Association officials said they were working on a couâ€" ple of plans to address the concerns about parking for spectators, including shuttle They‘ll have it all sorted out by game time, I‘m sure. MacLachlan. "It allows the kids to play baseball longer." The other bad news is a probable. Based on his usual timeâ€"table of playing tournaâ€" ments, there‘s a chance one Eldrick Woods â€" you know, that Tiger guy â€" won‘t be in the field. Mr. Woods won at Glen Abbey in 2000, played the next year at Royal Monâ€" treal but skipped last year at Angus Glen. And the final good news? Volkswagen Waterioo Continued on page 21