May 12, 2010: There will be a few Panthers turned Huskies on the prowl this fall as the Keyano College women’s basketball program is proud to announce the commitment of three outstanding student-athletes for the 2010-2011 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference season.

Members of the Alberta Schools Athletic Association’s 2010 4A girls silver medalist Spruce Grove Composite High School Panthers, “all three are very athletic, aggressive and committed to showing the way huskies women’s basketball will be played in its (ACAC) inaugural season and for years to come,” said Huskies women’s coach Clayton Nielsen.

The three players are: 5-foot-5 point guard Vanessa Wideman, 5-foot-7 shooting guard Jelayne Dubielew and 5-foot-11 post Ari Clemens.

Starting her basketball career in Terrace, British Columbia with the introduction to a Grade 4 miniball program, Wideman relocated with her family in Grade 8 to Spruce Grove.

“Keyano is a school that meets my needs both academically and athletically and I can see myself fitting in and having a very positive college experience at Keyano,” said Wideman, who will be entering the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.

Panthers head coach Dave Oldham spoke highly of Wideman, who was on the senior team for three years. “Vanessa is a versatile player who will bring a great skill set to the college level. Her quickness, ability to shoot and court vision will create great opportunities for her in the ACAC.  Vanessa brings leadership and a tremendous work ethic with her.”

Oldham, also had high praise for his graduating shooting guard Dubielew: “Jelayne brings a well-rounded skill set to compete and play at the college level.  Her ability to shoot the ball, decision making and fundamental skills will allow her to contribute to the Keyano Huskies.  Jelayne always brings great energy and a commitment to improve every day.”

 Dubielew will be entering the Bachelor of Physical Education program and is excited about the upcoming season: “They (Keyano Huskies) are building a team and I want to be a part of building it. I had good impressions on the school, very nice facility and big gym, friendly environment.”Dubielew has played basketball since Grade 6 and was a member of Center of Performance through Canada Basketball. She tore her ACL in Grade 11 but recovered to assist her team to a second place ranking in the province.Also entering the Bachelor of Physical Education program is Clemens who has future plans of being an athletic therapist.

Of his pivot, Oldham said: “Ari is an excellent rebounder and very tough inside. She has developed her ability to face up and shoot and she is a very good passer from the post.  Ari brings energy and toughness to the floor, and is willing to put in the extra time to create success.”

Oldham concluded that he is “very proud” to have three players heading north up Highway #63 to pursue their athletic and academic careers. 

“Spruce Grove Composite High School is very proud to have three graduating players moving on to Keyano College.  They are all tremendous young women and basketball players who will make a positive impact.”

March 29, 2010

 Keyano Huskies women’s basketball held an elite training camp March 26-27, 2010 with the main goal to solidify the team representing Keyano College in its first year in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) and to have them begin the team building process. For some of the athletes this was their first visit to Fort McMurray and The Syncrude Sport & Wellness (SSWC) facilities.

The goal was met and exceeded. The positive energy and enthusiasm shown by the incoming athletes was clear and seen by everyone involved. They possess high-skill and will be able to play the kind of basketball the coaching staff wants to implement.

A total of 15 local high school athletes, mostly Grade 10’s and Grade 11’s, were also invited to participate in the camp as well, but only four were able to attend. We see this as an opportunity for the Huskies women’s basketball program to get out into the schools and try to connect with the up-and-coming female basketball players.

The players were put through testing, station work and scrimmages. The pace was high and the athletes were very tired at the end of Friday’s session.

Saturday’s session consisted of two parts: the morning session, being an overview of the workout program athletes are expected to complete as well as shooting drills; the afternoon session was reserved for the top 11 attending the camp. The afternoon session focused on shooting drills and game play.

Another positive from the weekend was the amount of people that stopped to watch the sessions. As the camp took place at the SSWC, we had many people taking a break from their workouts as well as passers by watching the action. We had many positive comments on the high skill level shown by the participating athletes and their efforts.

The coaching staff was very pleased with this weekend’s results and we are very excited for what is to come from this group of young women.

We look forward to having many people from the community come out, watch and support Huskies basketball as we start our inaugural season in the ACAC.

The Huskies women’s basketball program is excited for this year’s MAC Basketball season. The program is for ages 7-17. The first session for 7-12 year olds is set for April 10th and the first session for U13, U15, and U17 will be April 17th.

Also look for the Huskies women’s training centre coming this fall for ages 13-18. These sessions focus on fundamentals, offensive skills and team play. The program will consist of approximately 20- hours of instruction led by the Huskies coaching staff and players. Be sure to contact Clayton Nielsen for more information on this exciting new basketball opportunity in Fort McMurray at 780-791-4813.

Womens Basketball 2009-2010 Awards

Head Coach Clayton Nielsen presenting

MVP: Angela Cull

Rookie of the Year:  Lisa Ramsay

by COREY ATKINSON Fort McMurray TODAY staff

March 17, 2010: The Keyano Huskies women's basketball team hasn't played a game yet, but head coach Clayton Nielsen already knows they'll be a bit on the young side when they officially do take the court next season.

Nielsen has been busy over the past few months building a program as the team took a year off between Alberta Colleges Athletic League and their first season in the much bigger Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference.

"This year, I think recruiting has been great," said Neilsen, who was an assistant coach in the Red Deer Queens program. "The one positive of not playing ACAL this year is that both (men's coach) Mike (Connolly) and I were able to do a lot more recruiting than probably we would have if we were playing and coaching."

The recruiting is starting to bring in some players for the women's team — including four who have committed for the 2010-11 season. They are centre/forward Anita Balogh (H.J. Cody, Sylvan Lake), point guard Sam Connolly (LCI, Lethbridge), shooting guard Cassandra Gilmore (W.R. Myers, Taber) and point guard Kasey Reiter (PGSS, Prince George, B.C.).

"Recruiting in huge and for me, I was able to see a couple of really big 4A tournaments in Edmonton and Calgary," Nielsen said. "I was able to get eight confirmed people to come up here for next year and that's huge for us. We're going to be new in the league and really young."

Neilsen said he can't imagine anyone in the league being younger than the Huskies. He plans to go with a roster full of 2010 high school grads.

"This year, being able to go and see them and talk to them, I'm pretty excited," Nielsen said. "It's been really good for us for fall next year."

While they are planning on starting with literally no experience and the other teams have oodles, Nielsen hopes the Huskies to be competitive fairly quickly.

"It really depends on our maturity and our growth as we go throughout the year, carrying on over to the second year," Nielsen said. "We have a really good chance of competing right away — and that's our goal — but it's going to be tough because we're really young and you can't expect them to be first place or second place when you're just out of high school."

Last week, the Huskies men's volleyball team announced the recruitment of 20-year-old Stephen Shields and Brock Payne, a 19-year-old, as two of their recruits for 2010. Shields is a six-foot-six right side from Neelin High School in Brandon, Man., while Payne, a six-foot-five left side, went to Vincent Massey High School, also in Brandon