Robert Loehle has had his hand in basketball since he fell in love with the sport in high school. It has been a tool that has helped him to stay healthy and overcome many obstacles he has faced in life. He was a star player in high school and even went on to play college basketball in the US & Canada which helped support him through most of his post secondary educational career. Throughout Robert’
s basketball endeavors, he has been fortunate enough to build relationships with some amazing people ranging from the top scouting service in Canada (North Pole Hoops), to top basketball coaches in American schools such as Allen Caveness (St. Anthony Catholic School/ Nike Drew League), a number of NBA players including Rob Sacre (Lakers), Metta World Peace (Lakers), Doc Rivers (head coach of LA Clippers), Nate Robinson (NO Pelicans), Eric Gordon (Houston Rockets), Isaiah Thomas (Boston Celtics) as well as a number of basketball coaches within our local community. Regardless of Robert’s accomplishments as a coach and a player, his niche has always been in the area of community basketball which sparked the birth of West Coast Basketball and the Youth Development Basketball League (Y.D.B.L). Looking at today’s youth and the many struggles they face from day to day, Robert’s heart has been and continues to constantly seek new ways to provide them with the same kind of healthy outlet he had growing up. Working within the current basketball club community, he felt that the athletes were not given enough experience of authentic game play. Kids would often show up to practice, were taught individual skills, but were not provided with the means to put those skills to practice within a game environment on a regular basis. Robert’s hope through his new club and league is to be able to rectify these shortcomings by providing both skills practices and weekly game play to improve each athlete’s abilities. However, his ultimate goal is to use basketball as a means to instill a sense of self worth, positivity and confidence in our youth to help them lead successful and meaningful lives both on and off the court.
