OUR
MISSION
The
New England Colonials International Basketball Club
is a non-profit program that has as its central purpose
the encouragement and support of international friendship
between New England student athletes and their peers
from other nations.
While
basketball serves as a focal point and a catalyst for
our programs and tours, we also endeavor to involve
all participants in activities that promote understanding
and appreciation for other societies and cultures. New
England students selected to take part in Colonials'
programs and tours must demonstrate a high level of
commitment to school, community, and our program's mission
and goals.
Welcome
Home, Coach Harrington!
Click Image to Magnify
SPC Jason
Harrington of Abington, MA, a coach on three Colonials'
Rovers tours, safely returned stateside after a tour
of duty with Army Intelligence in Iraq. While in Iraq,
Coach Harrington (in photo with Senator John Kerry) communicated on
a regular basis with his former Colonials' players
and colleagues, providing a dramatic personal
perspective on daily life in the war zone.
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2007:
Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany,
Hungary, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Sweden
- Our Most Exciting Year Ever!
Our 2007 Ambassadors team
celebrated our 27th year with a demanding ten-day
tour that included games in Vienna, Sopron in Hungary,
Prague, and Frankfurt. As on all Colonials' tours, our
players resided with host families at each stop on their
itinerary.
While
our Ambassadors were on the continent last April, our
young Rovers team played in Edinburgh and Glasgow in
Scotland and made a journey across the Irish Sea to
visit and play our great friends from St. Malachy's
College in Belfast. The City of Edinburgh Basketball
Club in Scotland's capital has been added to our growing
list of good friends worldwide.
In August, our Colonials' newest Colonials team
- the Spirit - represented the USA in
the highly respected Flanders Trophy Tournament in Ghent,
Belgium. This wonderful basketball event annually
draws top boys and girls teams from 25 nations. Our
Spirit team went 6-1 in the tournament to finish
3rd in a strong field of 24 teams. The Colonials program
is proud to have sent the first team to represent the
United States in the Flanders Trophy Tournament.
From Ghent, the Spirit team traveled on
to Hamburg in Germany and Lund in Sweden, finishing
a terrific tour as guests of the wonderful young players of
the Falcon Basketball Club in Copenhagen, Denmark. An
unforgettable '07 Colonials' season will conclude
this October when we welcome the St. Mirren Basketball
Club of Glasgow for a week-long New England tour.
To
learn where our Colonials teams will play in 2008, please
visit the Our Tours section of our
website.
Click
Image to Magnify
The
'07 Colonials Spirit with the Sheffield Junior
Sharks, England's 2007 Club champions. The Sharks topped
the Spirit in a terrific semifinal game at
the Flanders Trophy Tournament.
ABOUT
THE COLONIALS
Basketball
- born in the USA in 1891 - is now truly an international
game, played in nearly 190 countries worldwide. The
New England Colonials International Basketball Club
is proud to have introduced hundreds of New England
student athletes to the excitement of international
competition and world travel. Additionally, we have
welcomed hundreds of guests from overseas to our country
for camps, summer hosting, team tours and international
festivals.
Colonials'
teams do not hold tryouts and are not all-star teams.
Applicants should be serious players with a strong
desire to improve their game and a real sense of
adventure. We rely on the quality of an applicant's
references and responses to the application questions.
A number of our players are referred by former players
and coaches. Players and families are invited to call
or meet with us before submitting an application. We
will be happy to put applicants in touch with our Colonials'
alumni and families throughout New England.
Our
fundraising program enables all players to raise the
money needed to meet their tour expenses. We urge all
interested players to apply. There are several stipends
available for individuals with financial need. Introductory
team and fundraising planning meetings will be held
in the fall. Regular e-newsletters keep parents and
players up to date about all aspects of the tours as
our planning progresses through the winter.
Accepted
players are expected to maintain a strong standing in
the school and in the community. Colonials teams do
not begin practicing until the school basketball seasons
for all players have been completed, usually in March.
Practices are held on weekends up to the team's departure
and are mandatory for all players. We attempt to arrange
practices in locations central to the geographic distribution
of the team.
Please
Note: All Colonials players and families are
required to participate in the program's hosting program for
visiting players and teams. This is our way of repaying
the exceptional hospitality we receive when overseas.
If you cannot meet this requirement, please do not submit
an application.
Colonials'
basketball operations and teams are supervised
and coordinated by Tom Ackerman of Rutand, MA, Peter
Boyle of Brattleboro, VT, Dennis Dextradeur of Barre,
MA, Daniel Atkinson of Springfield College, Greg Gillette
of Nashua, NH and David Harder of Copenhagen, Denmark.
The program's travel and fundraising planning is coordinated
by Scott Bryson, an ITMI certified international tour
planner and manager with 30 years of international
travel experience.
To
learn how you can host an International Colonials player
next summer or help arrange a visit and games for the
International Colonials in your community, please call
us at 508-668-1935, or send us an email at necolonials@aol.com.
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CONTACT
US
Contact the New England Colonials
at:
necolonials@aol.com or
P: 508-668-1935 Fax: 508-668-2017
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