This Calgary youth basketball coach is helping more kids experience sport
CBC
Youth sports can be expensive for parents looking to sign their kids up, but one Calgary father is volunteering his time to make it a little easier for other families.
Angel Martinez coaches the Calgary Bulls basketball team nearly every weeknight — and he doesn't make a dime doing it.
"Yes it's a lot of work, but I love this game," explained Martinez.
"I can see the results, so that is my paycheck for me. That is the money."
Not only does Martinez spend his time teaching the U16 team at no charge to the players, but he works to make other aspects of the sport cheaper as well.
He painted the lines on the outdoor basketball court they use at his local community association, hunted down equipment to be donated and found a sponsor to help them afford professional jerseys.
When Martinez first looked into getting the Bulls to a league tournament, he was quoted as high as $1200 per player to register.
He eventually found a league that charges just $125 each, but even then he wanted to help make it more affordable for families who didn't have the spare cash.
"[That's] half of your groceries or it can complete your rent," said Martinez, who started raising funds to help with the fees.
"We were collecting bottles. So we sell the bottles, we get some money, we pay something on the registration fees."
His dedication paid off when the Bulls, up against an all-boys team, took home the bronze.
"This team doesn't exist without Angel," said Mark Bromley, who coaches in other leagues but spends his spare evenings helping Martinez teach the Bulls.
He said without the efforts of their coach to make the sport accessible and inclusive, some of the kids on the team wouldn't be able to play.
"There's all different ages of kids, there's kids from different economic backgrounds, kids from different cultural backgrounds, kids with different abilities," said Bromley.
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