Documentary follows Perth, Ont. high school basketball team's success
A student and former basketball player at Perth and District Collegiate Institute in Perth, Ont. is set to release a documentary, which follows the success of the girls' senior basketball team.
The PDCI Blue Devils' season featured an undefeated regular season, a regional Lanark County Championship, an Eastern Ontario Championship, and a quarterfinal's appearance at the provincial championships.
"Showcase this incredible story," said documentary maker Lauren Croth.
"I think it's so compelling to see just how a group of girls and a coach became a family over these last couple of years."
Croth took on the project after becoming the team's social media and communications manager last year in Grade 11, when COVID restrictions prevented fans from attending games.
"I don't think anyone would have thought this; that when we started playing that we were going to be this successful," said Leah Craig, a Grade 12 student and team member.
"We come from a small town where basketball isn't that huge."
The journey to the provincial championships was an improbable one, according to members of the team. Many of the players began playing the game of basketball together nine years ago.
"The first time I probably ever touch a ball was with some of my teammates," says team captain Reegan Bell.
"I remember our first game, we literally lost 50 something to 2."
"Getting to the provincial championships was a dream come true for a lot of these players," says head coach Sean Christy. "It will be the highlight of their high school years."
Croth says her documentary will be released around mid-February, as a way of launching her hopeful journalism career before heading to Toronto Metropolitan University in the fall.
The approximately 60-minute feature culminates with a defining moment from the team's final game.
"A timeout late in the last game when we knew we weren't going to be able to come back," Christy recalls.
"We were running out of time and it was probably the last time that particular group of girls would be out on the floor together."
"I'm pretty sad about it but I'm happy it happened," says Craig. "I don't think very many people get to experience bonds like this in their lifetime."
The players and coach agree that Croth's feature will be difficult to watch, but will also serve as a way of staying connected as their basketball family goes their separate ways.
"I'm obviously going to watch it," says Bell.
"It's going to be something that we can all come back to."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.