Grad student elected new president of Basketball Saskatchewan

Photo: Kelsey, Jeremy Sundeen and Dr. Kathleen Nolan

Grad student Jeremy Sundeen of Regina has been elected as new President of Basketball Saskatchewan. Sundeen who is originally from Fort Qu’Appelle, was part of two Fort Qu’Appelle Gold medal winning high school basketball teams in 2002 and 2004. Sundeen has been a teacher, official and coach in Meadow Lake and in Regina, and presently coaches at Sheldon-Williams Collegiate. Sundeen has been on the BSI board for 6 years and served as the VP of Athletes. He brings a positive combination of rural and urban experiences as well as experience as an athlete, coach and official. More recently Jeremy Sundeen was a part of a host committee which hosted the 2016 women’s national championships at the University of Regina in July, 2016. Basketball Saskatchewan will also be hosting the 2017 U15 Nationals this upcoming July at the University of Regina featuring the best basketball players in Canada in their respective age categories.

Sundeen replaces, Mark Benesh who is stepping down as President of Basketball Saskatchewan after 8 years in that role and 14 years of being a board member. Benesh, who led Leboldus Golden Suns to its first provincial High School Basketball championship in 1980, went on to play 5 years with the University of Regina Cougars where he was a two-time GPAC all-star and Cougar MVP in 1985. Benesh has coached a variety of sports over the last 25 years in the southwest, is a school Superintendent with Chinook and is presently coach of the Great Plains Men’s Basketball team. Benesh is extremely proud of the growth of basketball in the province at the grass roots level and at the elite level as Saskatchewan won its first ever gold medal at the 2015 National Basketball Championships. He is also proud of the work of the BSI office, its provincial coaches, and the various coaches around the province who every day build of a love of the game with kids. Benesh’s involvement in sports will be continuing as he has accepted the position of chairperson for the upcoming Western Canada Games being held in Swift Current in 2019.

Bryan Akre of Outlook (17 years) and Brent Hebert of Regina (7 years) have also stepped off the board. Basketball Saskatchewan would like to thank Bryan, Brent and Mark for their contributions in the development of basketball in the province. Along with Jeremy Sundeen, the board consists of Penny Anderson (Melfort), Andrew Herrick (Swift Current), James Hillis (Regina), Rick Johnson (Saskatoon), Trevor Ostig (Middle Lake), Mike Rathwell (North Battleford), Scott Sather (Regina), Gabby Schuback (Regina), Kevin Shalley (Regina), Harold Shutiak (Saskatoon), Jessie Smoliak (Estevan), and Rick Wingate (Saskatoon).

Posted by Basketball Saskatchewan February 7, 2017