Courtside with Bev Facey’s new basketball program lead

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Bev Facey’s men’s basketball has a new face leading the program.  

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Kyle Nanan has joined the program as the head coach with the goal of building on an already strong foundation. Officially brought on board in late April, Nanan brings a wealth of experience at various levels throughout the Edmonton and area basketball scene.

After coaching at Archbishop Jordan and J. Percy Page, during which he won four Edmonton Metro Athletics titles, Nanan spent four years with Concordia University before being offered the position at Bev Facey. 

Coach Nanan spoke highly of the connection between his vision and that of Bev Facey’s athletic director Brad Launhardt; “I described my vision with what we wanted to do and how we wanted to collaborate and how we wanted to build a culture here… and charter a path forward, so it’s been really exciting.”

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The new coach didn’t waste any time connecting his new players with some of those that he had spent the last four years with at Concordia on May 31. Nanan was able to fill the court with Bev Facey players and a group of graduating players from Concordia, he spoke about the importance of “bridging the gap” between junior, senior and college players.

“All the players in the gym today are graduating players from Concordia, so they can share their journey from being a recruit to university student, to now a graduate and what type of work ethic it takes. And to really give these student athletes a real tangible example and someone to talk to and communicate with and ask questions about what does the next level look like. Because everybody has an idea of what it is, but not necessarily what it actually is in practice.” 

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Getting started before the next school year is an important step toward creating the culture that Coach Nanan believes will help the team to consistently compete, as well as add some banners to the rafters. He discussed the importance of engaging with the student athletes and instilling discipline not only on the court, but in the classroom as well. 

The coach’s enthusiasm for the sport is very apparent and he believes in building the sport at Bev Facey, but also in the community.

“We’ve had discussions about a fall team and what’s really cool is facilitating collaboration with other schools in Sherwood Park. We want to build basketball across the spectrum. If we get more players playing, everybody is going to win in the end.” 

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Nanan went on to express his compliments on the support he’s been given since taking over as head coach.

“I really feel incredibly supported by what Brad (Launhardt) has done,” he said. “I think Brad has facilitated an environment where he’s letting me run with it and allowing us to redesign the logos, redesign our gear, get people really energized with what we’re doing. If it looks different, it’s going to feel different.” 

Armed with a new logo, new gear, and a new vision, the coaches, students, faculty, and fans can look forward to renewed energy on and around the court for the coming season and beyond.  

lmorey@postmedia.com

X: LindsayDMorey

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