LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Two Fort Simpson basketball teams won silver medals on home territory this past weekend, the senior and junior boys teams.

Thomas Simpson School Wolfpack junior boys division player Zehro'h Waugh moves the ball up the court during the gold medal game on Jan. 10 against the Fort Nelson Huskies. The junior boys took silver. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo

The annual Wolfpack Invitational Basketball Tournament saw 12 visiting teams from communities such as Yellowknife, Hay River, Deline and Fort Nelson, B.C., take on local talent from Jan. 9 to 10.

"Fantastic," is how Fort Simpson teacher and coach Neil Barry described how it all turned out when the teams played.

Barry said he was impressed with the improvement in skills local players showed as the tournament progressed.

"They improved from the beginning to the end," he said of the 27 school-aged players on three teams. Only seven of the players from Fort Simpson are seniors who have previous playing experience.

"They're night and day better," Barry said of how the newcomers performed. "We're super proud of them for that."

Kristen Morrison and Travis MacQuarrie, teachers at Thomas Simpson School, coach the Wolfpack teams with Barry. The three organized the tournament, held at the village rec centre.

Tyler Lafferty, a Grade 11 student at Thomas Simpson School who has played basketball for several years, said he enjoyed being part of the tournament.

However, he said with so many new players, there's still lots of room for improvement.

"I think we could have done better," he said.

He and other players went to Fort Nelson late last year for an exhibition tournament.

There were three divisions taking part in the villiage tournament - the junior division included students in grades seven, eight and nine.

There was also a team of coaches, some who played basketball in college, from the various teams that took on local players in the final game of the tournament. Several of the coaches drew loud cheers as they performed dunks during warm-up.

The match proved a close one, with the score even, though the coaches won in the end.

The Fort Nelson senior boys team went undefeated, taking gold against Fort Simpson.

"The biggest thing is that the kids get to come together and have fun," Barry said. "That's what it's about."

The tournament, which has been held in the village for more than a decade, is also an excellent way to train the local teams in preparation for February's annual Cager tournament in Yellowknife he said.

"That's what we're building up to," he added.

Barry said months of planning went into pulling off the tournament, including training new time keepers and organizing referees.

He said about $2,500 worth of funding was provided by Mackenzie Recreation, which covered meals and travel, while $1,000 was provided by NWT Basketball.

Lafferty said it was great to play on home court in front of so many people.

"It gets me pumped up," he said about the vocal crowd. "This is probably the loudest fan base we've had in this gym in a long time," Barry said to players and spectators before medals and awards were handed out Saturday evening.