The courts are busy in Woodstock this winter, as the Woodstock Oxford Minor Basketball Association (WOMBA) currently has more than 24 teams and 250 youngsters playing house league basketball within the organization. From Minor Atom to Midget, kids from 6 to 16 are having a ball at two schools every Sunday in Woodstock.
The WOMBA season runs from mid-October to the beginning of March, and the organization is run entirely by volunteers, from the team’s coaches to the league executive and league convenors. In other words, it’s all about the love of basketball and healthy physical activity for youngsters in Woodstock.
And the players have something special in store in the new year.
“Each year WOMBA organizes a London Lightning game for the kids and their families at a discounted rate,” said Russ Coomber, the current league president.
This year that will be Saturday, January 14, 2017, as the Lightning will take on the Kitchener-Waterloo Titans at Budweiser Gardens. Tip-off time is 7pm, and WOMBA players are expected to be wearing their team jerseys in the stands.
Coomber, who is in his third year as league president, played basketball as a youngster himself, picking up the game at age 12. He started coaching when he was 19, and he began refereeing at 24. And he’s proud to serve as president of a league that is providing 250 kids a fun and affordable opportunity to play the game of basketball.
WOMBA’s mission is to foster the growth of youth basketball and to promote the game to kids of all abilities, through skill development and team participation in a fair, safe and supportive environment. Two years ago they went online for the first time, and they’re hoping to continue to grow and flourish – on and off the court.
Story by SportsXpress Team, contributions by Russ Coomber and photo by Ellerby Photography.
Proudly sponsored by Crabby Joe’s.
