NEW WATERFORD, N.S. — Standing at centre court in the Breton Education Centre gym, Ethan MacNeil can't believe his dream is about to come true.
The Grade 9 player remembers sitting in the stands as he watched the home team win the New Waterford Coal Bowl Classic in 2016.
This week, MacNeil will have his first opportunity at winning his hometown tournament when he suits up for the Bears at the 38th annual high school basketball tournament in New Waterford.
"I always looked up to everyone playing in the tournament and I always wanted to play in it," said MacNeil. "When you grow up in New Waterford, every basketball player dreams of playing in the tournament — it's something you aim for and when you get here, it feels great."
MacNeil played his first-ever Coal Bowl Classic game on Monday night against the Northumberland Nighthawks. The score result was not available at press time.
This year, the Bears team is believed to be one of the youngest teams to ever represent the school at the tournament. The team is made up of one Grade 12, five Grade 11s, two Grade 10s and two Grade 9s. They also called up Grade 8 Luke MacKinnon for the week.
Despite the club being fairly young, MacNeil is confident in the team's approach to the tournament.
"Hopefully, we'll win some games this week," he said. "We have confidence and we know we're going to work hard, so anything can happen, the games still have to be played."
MacNeil and fellow Grade 9 Ben Kearney are leading in the team's offense in the Cape Breton High School Basketball League this season. MacNeil is averaging 15.3 points per game, while Kearney is averaging 11.4 points per game.
Kearney admits the transition from middle school to high school basketball was difficult at first, but believes he's more comfortable on the court now.
"As the season went on, I got closer with the team and the development really started to take shape," said Kearney. "It was hard for sure at the start, but I feel like I've found my game since."
The Bears, who have an overall 10-15 record this season, have four returning players from last year's team, however, they saw limited court time last year with a much older team.
Among the players from last year's team is Grade 10 student Morgan Hillier, who saw between 10-15 minutes of action during the 2019 tournament.
"It's nerve-wracking," said Hillier of being a rookie in the tournament. "You don't know what to expect when you're running around for the warmup and you see the big crowd, but it's a lot of fun after that first game."
Hillier believes this year's team has good chemistry and age doesn't mean anything when it comes to high school basketball.
"We're all close this year and it helps a lot," said Hillier. "We're not the biggest team on the court, but we pass it around and move the ball well and that can be an advantage for us."
BEC will return to the court Tuesday when they take on the Winston Churchill Bulldogs of Lethbridge, Alta. Game time is 8 p.m. at the BEC gym.
