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Manitoba-based basketball program brought players to the Sault: Report

Winnipeg-based Northstar Prep spent some time in Sault Ste. Marie recently to train after pandemic restrictions meant the team couldn't train in its own province
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A Winnipeg-based basketball program travelled to Sault Ste. Marie for training recently while their own city was in a code-red lockdown according to a report in the Winnipeg Free Press on Monday evening.

The newspaper is reporting that Northstar Preparatory Institute, which competes in the National Preparatory Association, was in Sault Ste. Marie for two weeks before returning to Winnipeg on Dec. 21.

While in the Sault, the team trained in a local facility that wasn’t named, says the report.

The team was unable to train in the Manitoba capital, as the city has been in a code red lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lockdown in the city meant that organized activity wasn’t an option.

SooToday has reached out to Northstar head coach Daron Leonard for comment.

Local basketball coach Jeff Giovanatti is listed on the Northstar Prep website as an associate coach and a head coach as part of its Circuit Program, which includes players from across the country, including Sault Ste. Marie.

In a phone conversation on Tuesday night, Giovanatti confirmed the team had trained locally under guidelines set out by Algoma Public Health and referred questions on the trip to Leonard.

Giovanatti and Leonard played together for one season of Ontario University Athletics basketball at Western in London.


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Brad Coccimiglio

About the Author: Brad Coccimiglio

A graduate of Loyalist College’s Sports Journalism program, Brad Coccimiglio’s work has appeared in The Hockey News as well as online at FoxSports.com in addition to regular freelance work with SooToday before joining the team full time.
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