Capersâ?? hoops coach McKenzie to guide womenâ??s national development team

Cape Breton University Capers women’s basketball head coach Fabian McKenzie will be applying his coaching expertise to the national women’s development team.

McKenzie will serve as head coach of Canada’s senior women’s ‘B’ squad this summer.

“It’s a tremendous honour to be asked to lead a team for your country into competition,” he said. “I’ve learned so much over the last four years working with other coaches within the program.

“It’s certainly something I think I can handle, but it’s going to be a test, it’s going to be new, it’s going to be doing different things. I’m excited for the challenge and a little bit nervous at the same time.”

An Atlantic University Sport coach of the year four times and a Canadian Interuniversity Sport coach of the year in 2006, McKenzie served as a scout and video coach of the senior women’s national team and has also worked with the development team in the past.

The women’s ‘B’ squad is composed of players looking to make the national women’s team, the club that represents Canada in international competition like the Olympics.

“We’re going to take athletes that have been identified for the next four years and some athletes they want to keep in the program and keep involved,” said McKenzie. “We’re going to train with them and take them to play.”

A 14-player development team tryout roster was named this week, which includes NCAA and CIS players. Of the players on the tryout roster are returning guard Justine Colley of North Preston, N.S., a member of the Saint Mary’s Huskies. Tryouts are being held at Humber College in Toronto and will conclude this week. The final team departs for Europe on Thursday.

Saturday and Sunday, the Canadian squad plays two exhibition games in Montenegro before departing for Belgium for three more exhibition games from May 25-27.

“Basketball can be a great game because it’s allowed me to see all corners of the world just in the last little while,” said McKenzie. “I get to see basketball played at different levels, meet different people and it’s just a tremendous basketball experience. You just can’t ask for anything better.”

McKenzie will be joined on the bench by former University of Calgary head coach Shawnee Harle and University of Windsor head coach Chantal Vallee, who will serve as assistants.

sports@cbpost.com