8 Basra stands tall on PacWest court The rookie point guard for Langara Falcons leads the men’s basketball team to the playoffs By LINDA NGUYEN ll eyes are on PacWest rookie of the year Ravi Basra as the Lan- gara Falcons men’s basketball team attempts to reach the Pac- West championship final for the fourth consecutive season. Basra, a North Vancouver product, might be a teenager, but has shown that he can be a top player at the col- lege level. The young star leads the league with 6.4 assists per game, ranks sixth in scoring with 16 points per game and took home PacWest rookie of the year honours after a standout season. Not one to take all the praise for himself, Basra credits his brother for teaching him the game. “He introduced basketball to me, showed me how to play, play the right way and the pass first mentality,” he said. Basra, a sports enthusiast in gener- al, someday wants to go bungee jump- ing, but basketball has a special place in his heart. “T like how there was lot of one-on- one action in it, everything else was more like patience but this was a fast paced game,” said Basra. A fast-paced style of game with quick transitions and heavy participa- tion by the point guard is what sold Basra on the Langara basketball program. “T watched a few of their games last year. I just like Bi how 4 involved the point guard was in all the plays. So I just really saw myself playing this system,” he said. The Falcons, who have reached the finals the last three years including victories in 2012- 2013 and a na- tional champi- onship in 2013-2014, came into the season with an entirely new roster. Basra was one of nine rookies to begin t he sea- son with the gara plays. “He has that really good natural understanding of the game, so he Paul scouted Basra Windermere School, knowing the young player’s instincts and raw talents would suit the type of basketball Lan- é LINDA NGUYEN photo Ravi Basra, rookie point guard for the Langara Falcons men’s basketball team, awaits a pass team. Head coach Eberhardt from Secondary sees two or three passes ahead and he’s super quick.” Eberhardt said. The Falcons finished the season in third place with a 13-8 record, se- curing a quarterfinal berth against Camosun College in the PacWest championship tournament at Cap- ilano University on Mar. 3 LUIS MINA photo A South Vancouver Little League player gets ready to hit the ball at Memo- rial South Park over the weekend as part of the annual player assessments. Little League plays fair, spreads talent South Vancouver Little League assessed player skills to ensure the teams are fair By LUIS MINA ssessing players’ basic baseball Ae prior to the start of the season allows South Vancouver Little League Baseball to ensure regular season games are fun and fair for kids. The assessments, which took place on Feb. 27 and 28 at Memorial South Park in South Vancouver, create an equal playing field by spreading the talent around differ- ent teams. Keeping the teams even is a fundamen- tal way to keep the fun in baseball, accord- ing to league president, Andrew Froese. “We do it to see where the kids’ abilities are at, and try to make all the teams equal and fair. If one team’s winning everything no one is having fun.” The league, which is for kids aged four through 12, has five separate divisions bro- ken down by age. The player assessments, however, are only for players who are sev- en and older. The assessments incorporate a number of skill sets, including hitting, fielding and running. The drills are the same for all ages, but the skills are performed at differ- ent levels, according to Brian Perry, a coach who helped facilitate the assess- ment process. A typical fly-ball drill, he explained, has two players “about 30 meters apart, and I try and hit the balls in between so I get one player from each station to run towards the ball. One catches it, the other backs it up. Well, hopefully catches it.” The South Vancouver Little League Baseball team were Canadian Little League champions in 2014 and played in the international bracket of the Little League Baseball World Series. But not every kid will play at that high level of competition. Shane Thomas, whose son Tyler has been playing baseball for six years, said he would love it if his son continued to play and increase his skills. “But at the end of the day,” he said, “it’s about him having fun and getting some ex- ercise at the same time.” The initial player assessments, though, are about keeping the game light and mak- ing sure the kids want to play. Wiley Wa- ters, an 11-year-old participant, said he likes the assessments because “there is not a lot of pressure.” Limited rehab for injured Langara student athletes ALISON PUDSEY photo A 3-D model of a leg muscle on display in the department of kinesiology at Langra College Severe injuries are beyond Langara’s capacity for coverage By ALISON PUDSEY hile injuries are an inevitable WW: of sports, Langara’s athlet- ics and intramurals depart- ment has only limited resources to pro- vide support for injured student athletes. Injuries like strained muscles or sprained ankles are covered by the ser- vices of Langara’s single part-time ath- letic therapist. If, however, the injuries are more severe and require a visit toa physiotherapist, then student athletes bear the cost of rehabilitation them- selves. Langara supports their athletes as much as they can with the resources available to them, according to director of athletics and intramural at Langara, Jake McCallum. The department, he added, relies on the expertise of athlet- ic therapist Jessica Dudas in preven- tion, rehabilitation and movement as- sessment to ensure athletes are receiving proper treatment. “If the nature of the injury or ele- ment is out of her purview she’l] make recommendations to visit the physio and or whatever else they might need to visit,” said McCallum. Langara athletes are able to see the athletic therapist without any addition- al cost, but if the injury is severe enough, like a concussion or a dislo- cated shoulder, students are expected to pay for their own rehabilitation. “Tf they’re seeing Jess, there is no cost to them. If they have to go outside for further treatment then that will come out of pocket,” said McCallum. Meanwhile, UBC provides rehabilita- tion for all their athletes and the ser- vices are entirely covered by the uni- versity. “It’s part of the benefit package for the athletes,” said Scott Fraser, head therapist and coordinator of trainer services at UBC. Fraser explained that each team in a moderate-risk sport has two student trainers who work with their athletes every practice and do an initial assess- ment in case of injury. “Then as necessary, they’re either referred to myself to take a closer look or, in a more urgent situation, it goes to the TOP emergency de- injuries partment. They 1 are supported by Ankle sprain sports medicine 2 croin pul physicians which we have a team of for any athletes that require x- ray, or ultrasound 3 Hamstring strain 4 Shin splints or MRI,” said Fra- 5 ser. ACL tear te including 6 Patellofemoral physiotherapists syndrome and athletic ther- {knee injury) apists, Fraser 7 Tennis elbow said student ath- letes at UBC re- ceive rehabilita- tion for all injuries. Source: WebMD