Wayne Dawkins, The Home Team’s Toronto Raptor
10 years ago, inspired by my work in the community, Canada’s #1 children’s author Eric Walters collaborated with Johnnie Williams
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P.H.A.S.E. 1 Alumni
Evan Pellerin – 15 Years of Professional Basketball
As Evan Pellerin approaches the final stretch of his 15-year basketball career, and looks back on his journey-the highs, the
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Shamar Coombs – Home Is Where The Basketball Is
Spending months away from home is the sacrifice most professional basketball players have to make to live their dreams. This
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Shaquille Keith – Don’t Count Him Out
When Shaquille Keith hits a basketball court, he is transformed from the reserved young man who enjoys writing poems, and
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D’Adrian Allen – Finding His Identity in Basketball
For 25-year-old D’Adrian Allen, basketball is more than just a game, it is who he is, it is what made
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Ryan Wright: The Example of Hard Work
Basketball coach Tim Notke once said, “hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work hard,” and it is by these
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Ashton Khan – Born to Lead
Basketball was just a fun pastime activity for Ashton Khan. Playing the game with his older brother and friends on
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Briana Gray – A Fearless and Focused Leader
“When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you‘ll be successful.”– Eric Thomas. This quote is one of many for
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Canadian Contribution to Women’s Basketball – All Canada Classic
The basketball court is where many female professional athletes call their workplace, but the legitimacy of their work is overshadowed because of their gender. The sudden loss of ambassadors to the women’s game, Kobe and Gianna Bryant has been a crushing blow on so many levels. For women’s basketball the hopes is their legacy will continue to propel the talent of the athletes and the work of those trying to elevate the women’s game forward until equal footing has been achieved.
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Basketball: Still An Open Chapter for Oditte Odisho
In everyone’s life, there comes a time when you must make a decision so critical that it determines the course of your future. For Oditte Odisho, that decision was choosing between being a pro basketball player and going back home to take care of her ailing mother.
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Wumi Agunbiade: On A Mission To Inspire
In many cultures, it’s believed that a name connects you to your past and can predict your future. For Wumi Agunbiade (given name Omawumi), the latter would seem to be the case. The name ‘Omawumi’ literally translates to ‘a lover of children’, and what better name could there be for a woman who spends her life enlightening and empowering young women?
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Charles Kissi – Sauce for Coaching Success
When I had initially wrote about Charles Kissi success as a coach it was before he turned pro and he was working tirelessly preparing himself by redefining the Brock University men’s basketball team for five seasons. At one point leading them to a 31-win season and a birth in the U-Sport Final 8 national tournament.
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Stephany Skrba – Canadian Basketball Wonder Woman
Serena Williams triumphant return to the upper echelon of professional tennis after having her daughter had us all in awe. It also reminded me of the responsibility to provide girls and boys with as many strong female role models as possible, in order to assist in bringing equality to women in sports.
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Chenel Harris – NCAA Women’s Coaching Inspiration
Despite only being 28 years old Chenel’s has seen many of her peers leave collegiate coaching and pursue alternative careers. Chenel has set herself apart because she has managed to find balance within the unbalance of coaching at such a demanding level.
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Mckenzie Sigurdson – Journey to the Air Canada Centre
As a trainer you know not every child possess the same athletic gifts, some are blessed with quickness, some natural strength and some leaping ability. Mckenzie has many gifts but her great hand eye coordination and a natural feel for the ball in her hand separated her from her peers.
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2001-2012 P.H.A.S.E. 1 All Canada Classic
The All Canada Classic (a.k.a. the Rumble in the T-Dot) National High School All-Star Basketball Celebration run by P.H.A.S.E. 1 still stands as Canada’s 1st and longest run national high school all-star game. From 2001-2012, the All Canada Classic consistently featured the biggest names in Canadian boy’s and girl’s high school basketball under the same roof
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Part 4 – The Implosion Before the Explosion of Canadian Basketball
The team representing Canada was made up of players from Jane & Finch, Rexdale, Regent Park and Jungle as well as a few ballers from Markham and Southern Ontario. These fearless warriors, who had never been further than the east coast of North America, battled for Canada winning the silver medal. They defeated both the Argentinian and Polish National Teams before losing a close battle to a U.S.A. Jr. National Team lead by Carmelo Anthony, Sheldon Williams, Juwad Williams and 4 other high school All Americans.
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Part 2 – The Implosion Before the Explosion of Canadian Basketball
The original Canadian AAU basketball founders and alumni have since been responsible for constructing a clear pipeline for Canadian basketball talent to flood into the United States prep, college and professional ranks. Resulting in over a billion dollars flowing directly back to Canadian families and communities.
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Women’s Pro Basketball Pioneers… Toronto Lady Elite 1’s
I am very proud of the group of talented women out of Toronto Canada, who accepted the challenge of becoming
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Canada Basketball FIBA Qualifiers – P.H.A.S.E. 1 Alumni
It has been 7yrs since P.H.A.S.E.1 ran a basketball program in Canada but we are extremely proud that 25 of
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Duke vs EMU – 7ft Boubacar Toure “the Underdog”
According to the dominant consensus, to call Eastern Michigan University Men’s Basketball Team the “underdogs” against the mighty Duke Blue Devil’s on Wednesday November 14, 2019 would be an understatement.
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The Rising Stars Showcase – All Canada Classic – Part 2
The Rising Stars Showcase for middle school and high school underclassmen boys and girls was introduced in 2002 and as a key component of the All Canada Classic, it identified and rallied around the young players who would become the future of Canadian basketball.
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Maurice Kirby – 6’9″ Sr. Gets a New Start
“P.H.A.S.E. 1’s “Athlete of the Week” race has heated up with all our athletes responding extremely well to the level of
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Ryan Berg – Rebuilding a Beast
Conference Freshman and Player of Year, Ryan Berg Ready to Return to the PacWest at California State San Marcos University! Ryan’s
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West Hill C.I. – A Decade of Distinguished Gentlemen
Thank you to all the teachers and administration at West Hill for the commitment to the success of these student athletes. A culture of excellence is not by accident but by design and together we can be proud of the legacy that was created.
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Emerson Jay Murray Turning Misfortune to Inspiration
The last time Emerson Jay Murray from Vancouver, Canada and I crossed paths he was a part of the greatest assembly of high school talent in Canadian Basketball history.
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Marco Morales – Summer Goals, Season Results
Marco came to P.H.A.S.E. 1’s training facility in Mesa, Arizona this past summer wanting to put on 20 pounds for the start of his sophomore season at Phoenix Community College in downtown Phoenix.
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Chris Kraus – 1st Men’s Canadian NCAA Basketball Head Coach
Chris could have easily become complacent in his early journey to becoming the 1st Canadian head coach of a men’s NCAA team.
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Denham Brown – Pioneer at a Price, Part 1
A year later after seeing Denham’s picture in the newspaper as a Toronto Star All-Star, wearing the Kobe’s and being guarded by Toronto Raptors Tracy McGrady, Nike Canada unloaded enough product on us to clothe a small community, not to mention the exclusive Air Jordan’s that used to mysteriously appear in my garage for him.
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Keeping My EYE on the Prize!
There were so many things running through my mind; would I go blind? Would I be able to continue to play sports? Was my football career over? I had just come back from an illness that had me home in Canada for period of time and was making my return to football and now this happens.
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Mark Stoddart – Graphic Artist Legend
From an early age he understood that people easily identified with popular logos and symbols used as trademarks. Whether it is an association like the NBA (who’s logo is the silhouette of Basketball Hall of Famer Jerry West), or a company like Nike, people identify with a brand on their chest. That symbol essentially becomes a representation of their persona. To him, that was a powerful idea.
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Alice Davis “The Mad Stepper”
It’s that camaraderie that allowed Alice and the rest of the team to spearhead the fundraising initiative to pay for the backboard shattered by Tristan Martin in the 2003 All Canada Classic – Dunk Contest at the Centennial College, Scarborough ON.
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Jevohn “J-Shep” Shepherd
Canadian basketball fans will always appreciate Vince Carter as the most popular “Air Canada” anyone knows. But for many of us Canadians on the ball scene, we had an actual Canadian “Air Canada” years before.
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Dane Smith Mr.”We The North”
Though Smith says he was naturally talented at both sports, he remembers watching the older kids on the basketball courts around his neighborhood for months. But he built up the courage and was able to join into the games and eventually hold is own.
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Amanda Davidson – Charting A New Course
Sports for me started at an early age. During elementary school, as the seasons changed, I changed sports, mostly school yard pick up, football, basketball, soccer baseball (kickball), whatever sport was being played, I played it.
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