03 - Don Thomson - Basketball Manitoba Podcast

Today on the Basketball Manitoba Podcast we have Don Thomson. Don has been a constant figure in the Manitoba basketball community for 25 years. Brandon Born and raised, he has dedicated his time and knowledge to advance the sport in Brandon and the surrounding areas. Don played at Brandon University and afterwards went on to coach at Neelin High School. In his over 25 years as a coach, he was recognized as the coach of the year numerous times, won provincial championships, coached Manitoba provincial teams, and won a Bronze Medal at the 2013 Canada Games. Don created the Mini-Spartans basketball camp to introduce and inspire the community to participate in the game. He also created and operates the annual Brandon Sun Spartan Invitational tournament, one of the province's longest-running and largest basketball tournaments in the province. Timestamps: 00:00 Don Thomson - Basketball Manitoba Podcast 02:20 Don's first memory of basketball 04:50 Lessons learned from Don's past mentors 13:30 Story of how Don got into coaching 18:15 The changes of the game of basketball throughout the years Don has been coaching 33:45 Don and Darcy discuss the small wins that matter when coaching athletes 40:10 Don explaining why and how the BSSI Tournament became to be 48:40 Don's memorable basketball stories 54:11 Don's funniest basketball stories 59:40 Don's advice to young coaches new to the game of basketball