Vanilla Thunder here, still trying to track down a game in Edmonton. Tried out the YMCA and found nothing but a few stragglers who'd rather play indoor soccer. A couple of days ago, I wound up at the Butterdome, a massive yellow cube that functions as the University of Alberta's all-purpose rec center. The track team was running hurdles and the facility was technically closed, but there were four indoor basketball courts with a few stragglers shooting around. I always wonder about stragglers. Are they just bored? Are they looking for a game? Are they practicing? Personally, I like to recreate High School practices when I shoot by myself. I run lay-ups (the weakest phase of my game). I shoot one hundred jump shots, free throws... Anyway, I'm getting distracted.
I was in the Butterdome, crashing the track team's drills and shooting by myself, when a 50-ish guy introduced himself as Allen. He wanted to go one-on-one. I love these one-on-one games with over-the-hill guys like myself. You know you're not impressing anyone with your crossover dribble. You're just hustling around the court, getting the heartrate up and trying to not get injured.
I had my mid-range jumper working and beat Allen, but then he wanted me to play with a handful of Native kids from his organization, the ENBA. It's kinda like the NBA, he said, except that it's the Edmonton Native Basketball Association. It's a great organization. I love the concept. And the aboriginal (as they say here in Canada) kids can play! One of the "kids" (ok, he was like 25) put on a dunking exhibition after our co-ed 4-on-4 game. Vanilla Thunder loves the idea of helping kids through basketball, and he's always thought he might be part Native anyway.
The ENBA's main dilemma is court space. Renting out the Butterdome is out of the question ($5000 an hour), but they're looking for spots around town. Count me in!
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