VIDEO: Dover Bay senior boys basketball team recognized at school rally

Linder, who drained 22 points in the championship game on March 9, is convinced the senior boys program at the north Nanaimo school will only get stronger from here.

“We just started it, we’re just getting going, this program is great,” Linder told NanaimoNewsNOW, who called winning provincials “a dream come true.”

Linder, who will return for his senior year, was joined by his younger brother Joe on this year’s team.

“He’s in grade nine and he’s playing with people in grade twelve, that’s amazing getting second-team all-star. Playing with him as a brother, that’s everybody’s dream, just playing with your brother, having so much fun and winning. It was amazing.”

Linder’s father Michael serves as an assistant coach.

Twelfth-grade Guard Tarmen Sandhu said the team’s resilience and dedication increased after narrowly missing out on a provincial title last year.

Sandhu believes establishing a winning environment built on hard work only serves as a positive for the future of Dover Bay’s basketball scene.

“You definitely want to be a role model for the younger kids. It feels great being in grade twelve and winning it, it could be the last memories in Dover,” Sandhu said.

The senior boys Dover Bay 3A Dolphins won their division’s Vancouver Island title in late February at Wellington Secondary by beating Courtenay’s Mark Isfield Secondary.

The culture is changing here
Dolphins head coach Darren Seaman said their team gained a lot of experience at last year’s provincial showcase.

Reflecting on how far their program and this year’s team has come, Seaman said the commitment level of their players was off the charts.

“They just bought in, that’s what they needed to do, we needed to work harder than everybody,” Seaman said.

The coach pointed to a solid support base of many volunteers who gave their players every chance to succeed, while he also acknowledged the backing of school and district administrators.

“We had parents that were organizing fundraising groups, all kinds of hours and hours went into that. Parents that travelled with us to feed the kids properly so they weren’t eating fast food, they were eating proper meals.”

Heightened standards and accountability were key drivers behind getting on-floor results for the team, Seaman emphasized.

“The culture is changing here. It’s not just winning, the standards of what we expect from the kids, expectations are high. The boys that are ending up in the program are high-level students and humans.”

With just three players graduating out of the program, eleven players are eligible to return to next year’s senior boys team at Dover Bay.

Members of Dover Bay’s 3A senior boys basketball team was individually recognized at centre court at their home gym. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

One year after missing out on getting their hands on provincial hardware, the Dover Bay Dolphins are 3A senior high school champs. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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by NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

VIDEO: Dover Bay senior boys basketball team recognized at school rally

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