Player moves to New Waterford for chance to play in Coal Bowl Classic

One of the players in this year's New Waterford Coal Bowl Classic basketball tournament is living a lifelong dream.

17-year-old Sam Stacey was born in New Waterford, N.S., but his family moved to Alberta for work when he was in elementary school.

The annual high school tournament has a 35-year history so Stacey saw the games when he was young. From that moment on, his goal was to play in the Coal Bowl as one of New Waterford's Breton Bears.

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Stacey said his family returned to the community every summer. By Grade 12, his dream had not died, so Stacey moved back to New Waterford to live with his grandparents. He attended Breton Education Centre in the hope of making the team.

His mother supported the idea, said Stacey.

"She graduated from here and she thought it would be a really cool idea for me to come to BEC and experience Coal Bowl and play on this team."

Stacey made the team and said so far, the experience has exceeded his expectations.

'It's been awesome'

"Great guys and a great coach," he said. "The fans are good and it's been a lot of fun."

But there has also been an unexpected side to the tournament.

"There's a lot of pressure when we play. A lot of fans, a lot of people chanting, looking at you, so it was even more than what I expected."

Stacey played against his home province in a match with Holy Trinity High School from Fort McMurray, Alta., on Friday night.

That didn't faze the young player, who said since this is likely his last year playing competitive basketball, he would try his hardest to earn a win for New Waterford. 

Holy coincidence

Holy Trinity High School won the Coal Bowl.

Aaron Barrington, the head basketball coach at Holy Trinity High School, played in the tournament as a Grade 12 student. He attended Riverview High School in Coxheath, N.S.

Oddly enough, Barrington said his team lost to a school from Quebec called Holy Trinity in the semifinals.

"I had to move all the way to Fort McMurray and start teaching at a school called Holy Trinity to redeem that loss of 2002," Barrington joked.

Great memories

Barrington said he hopes his team of 10 enjoys themselves as much as he did when he played in the tournament.

"Just staying in the dorm with all your teammates and the other teams, it's such a cool experience that you don't get anywhere else. When I still get together with my friends who played on that team, we still talk about it to this day," Barrington said.

He said he's coached many of the players on his team since middle school and said they're all aware of his connection to the tournament.

"They've heard all about my Coal Bowl stories and I've showed them pictures, so they were really excited to get a chance to do it themselves. It's a pretty cool experience for myself and for them," Barrington said.