South London Collegiate alums help secure OFSAA trip for boy’s basketball team

Thanks to a stellar season by student athletes and generosity of alums, the South London Collegiate Institute senior boy’s basketball team will be at OFSAA next week.

Thanks to a combination of a stellar season by student athletes and the generosity of alums, the South London Collegiate Institute senior boy’s basketball team will be representing London at the provincial championship next week.

The senior boy’s team from South qualified for the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) championships in Windsor by winning the regional championships on Monday. The last time South’s senior boy’s basketball made it to OFSAA was in 2004.

Head coach Stacey Farr said the coaching staff was confident about the team from the start of the season.

“We knew that we were an OFSAA worthy team, and we put in the work after the Christmas break… to get better and become a more cohesive unit,” said Farr.

After recording only two regular season losses, South defeated Clarke Road Secondary School in city championships before moving onto the Western Ontario Secondary Schools Athletic Association championships (WOSSAA) in the AA category.

At WOSSAA on Monday, South took down College Avenue Secondary School 91-85 in the semifinals before defeating St. Joseph Secondary School 78-68 to advance to OFSAA.

“Having this success is really exciting,” said Hayley Baker, a volunteer coach for the basketball team.

While the success of the team was celebrated throughout South, a combination of the school’s stellar athletic season and the short turnaround between WOSSAA and OFSAA put the possibility of some players going to the provincial championships up in the air.