VK Basketball

The trust has provided sponsorship in the form of monetary support for this program.

VK Basketball, a Vancouver-based club program for youth players founded by entrepreneur Anthony Beyrouti, himself a longtime local high school coach, is a program that has gone against the tide of many other clubs in the province of British Columbia by offering all of its services free of charge. To that end, VK Basketball has followed the framework of a number of US based club basketball programs that do not charge for their membership, yet are able to pay for top coaching and tournament travel by securing sponsors.

The value of great coaching, however, has never been under-valued.

“I’ve coached for years and never got paid and it seems like this is reverse,” said Langford, who continues to coach the senior girls varsity team at Port Coquitlam’s Riverside Secondary. “The coaches are getting paid, but the players don’t have to pay.”

Langford and former CIS player Jenna Ralston both coach age-group teams and run VK Basketball’s day-to-day operations, and they have brought together an enviable group of coaches including Langford’s brother Bruce, the head coach of the Simon Fraser women’s team.

Others include Langley Christian girls coach Danielle Gardner, Quest University women’s coach Dany Charlery, Alex Rucker of the Toronto Raptors, SFU assistant Jessica Wallace and former B.C. boys high school basketball president Chris Kennedy.