Over the Easter holiday weekend, student athletes from Noble Preparatory Academy (NPA) completed another edition of their annual educational tour in Canada where they visited several of NPA's partner schools in the region. For the athletes, the trip included the chance to visit some of the most prestigious institutions in North America, and the opportunity to meet and greet with some of the athletes and coaches of the schools, to get an idea of how much work it takes on and off the basketball court to make it to the next level.
Some of the schools listed on the trip's itinerary included Ridley College, Notre Dame and St. Marcellenius along with secondary institutions such as Niagara College and Brock University. They also had a chance to play exhibition games against some of the teams on the tour, which featured NPA alumni like Delroy Grandison, Shamar Burrows and Livingston Bromwell.
Burrows and Bromwell recently led the Ridley Tigers to their first provincial title in school history when they won the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations Class A boys basketball championship, while Grandison was named as the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) West Division Rookie of the Year award. The welding techniques major led the way for the Niagara Knights in most offensive categories. He finished the year averaging 15.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.
NPA President and Head Basketball Coach Geno Bullard said that the trip served as a "great motivator" for the kids in the program, because it allows them to get a realistic view of life, education and athletics at a higher level.
"The kids get really fired up to go on these trips, and I think it's because they all go in with the mindset that they could be next up," he said. "They played everyday against Grandison, Shamar and Livingston, so to see them playing at such a high level, it gives them the drive to work that much harder."
Bullard credits the success of his former players to a well-developed work ethic both on and off the court. According to Bullard, each of the aforementioned students is excelling in the classroom as well.
"This is why we started NPA, because we want to make sure that our students are well-rounded," said Bullard in an interview with The Nassau Guardian. "To be able to get to this point, you have to pass all of your classes. Some of these school's have a very intense and accelerated academic pace where you have seven courses in a term, as opposed to a traditional school where you only have five. To have that kind of academic load and to balance that with being on an athletic team where you have to practice and play in games at schools that are more than eight hours away, it tells you a lot about their character."
Bullard went on to say that he thinks he is going to swap out attending local basketball tournaments, with traveling to compete in international tournaments.
"There is no longer any benefit to them," he said. "My goal is to improve the life of my athletes and I think that this is the best way, to act as a travel team."
David Witty, director of basketball operations at Ridley College said the he expects the pipeline between Canada ad The Bahamas to continue to strengthen.
"I always say, 'If you're coming for basketball, don't come.' There are lots of basketball schools out there and we are looking to create the whole student athlete," he said. "In Livingston's case, he came here as a good athlete, high jumper and basketball player, but the most important part of Livingston's progress here has been his maturity of himself as a person. The Bahamas has a special place in our heart and we will continue that relationship."
Bromwell is in the midst of an exchange program with the school, with hopes that it will blossom into a full scholarship.
Other NPA alumni playing in Canada include Marako Lundy and Tenero Ferguson.
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