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Years of battling in the paint have turned into a wealth of knowledge about basketball for former Quest Kermodes forward Brodan Thiel.
Now he鈥檚 passing on some of that knowledge to a whole new generation of British Columbia ballplayers.
Since graduating in 2013, Thiel has remained active in the sport as a coach, and this past summer was named one of the coaches for the U14 Boys Provincial team.
Thiel said Quest head coach Sean Shook helped open the door for him to coach, and he loves molding young minds.
鈥淟ast summer I coached the U15 regional team in East Van, and later that summer Shook was coaching the U17 team and I asked if they needed an extra hand,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 got involved with them last year and this year was asked to coach the U14s and I jumped at the opportunity.鈥�
After graduating from Quest, Thiel completed a teaching degree at SFU and helped coach the Grade 9 Boys team at St. George鈥檚 in Vancouver. He made such a positive impact at that school that he鈥檚 been hired on to teach there full-time in the fall.
鈥淏asketball is leading me into avenues I never even thought possible,鈥� he said.听
Thiel said it鈥檚 rewarding to be a positive influence in the lives of young basketball players.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about being a role model and giving back,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen I was a kid I didn鈥檛 really have many male role models, and now with these kids, you drive them to games, to Tim Hortons and buy them lunches and it鈥檚 all good, because you鈥檙e giving them an opportunity to play the game they love.鈥�
He said his years at Quest playing under Shook increased the desire to stay in the game and experience the game from the sidelines.
鈥淲hen Shook gave me the coaches鈥� award in my last year, he said I was the toughest guy he鈥檚 ever had to coach because we鈥檙e so similar,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e would butt heads all the time at practice, but I knew that from the time I started playing college ball that I would eventually be a coach. Shook mentored me and we鈥檙e great friends now and talk all the time. He helped bring me along and I鈥檓 forever grateful for the opportunities he鈥檚 given me.鈥�
The Quest flavour on the U14 team is strong this summer as Thiel helped to bring along current Kermode Denzel Laguerta to assist with the coaching duties.
鈥淲e played one year together and Denz is a great teammate and is very familiar with the Basketball B.C. program,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e knows the program and he鈥檚 a smaller guy so he鈥檚 relatable to the kids. He鈥檚 got a great personality and is an awesome guy, so I thought he鈥檇 be a great fit and he has been.鈥�
The U14 team has travelled throughout Washington State so far this summer and just finished a tournament in Las Vegas last weekend. The Las Vegas trip marked the end for the team and the boys got to battle teams from Chicago, LA, Seattle and Nebraska.听
鈥淲e are pleased with how the summer has gone. Everyone has gotten better and that is the goal of a development team,鈥� he said.
