Shockers Academy

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why we do it

Family. Impact. Development.

When we looked back at our youth and the experiences we had with the game, what we remembered the most were the bonds we formed with our teammates, the tough coaches who held us accountable to a higher standard and the competition. It's where confidence grew and provided us with some of our biggest life lessons. It helped us become who we are.

We recognize the impact of the digital world and lack of connection that has come with it's benefits.

It's why we have built an culture where players can feel empowered to embrace challenges, deal with pressure, and become leaders, allowing them to grow into the best version of themselves. And when they do fail (because everyone does, right?), they have a TEAM that gives them the courage to embrace it, grow from it and continue to Dream Even Bigger.

Our mission is to create young leaders through sport so they, in turn, become great human beings in the community.

Our staff

Jason Herbert - Founder and Director of Basketball

Nathan Obrigewitsch - Coach / Strength & Conditioning coach at HoopStrength

As a parent with a son who aspires to play in the NCAAs one day, Jason knows the reality...so few make it. With that in mind, he has tapped into his vast experience as a basketball coach and business leader to create a program that focuses on developing the human being, not just the basketball player. Some of his on court experience:

Nationally Certified Level 3 Canadian Coach
Certified Ganon Baker Trainer
23 years of basketball coaching at every level from elementary, to High School to College and University.
Coached Club teams (both males and females) in Ontario including the Ottawa Guardsmen; which was founded by Dave Smart (former head coach of Carleton Ravens)
Coached athletes who went on to professional basketball careers
Have brought club teams to compete in AAU tournaments (U.S)
Worked in large summer basketball camps at Michigan, Maryland, Syracuse to name a few.

Nathan Obrigewitsch - Coach / Strength & Conditioning coach at HoopStrength

Raised in small town Fort Mcmurray Alberta, Nathan grew up a multisport athlete but found a true passion for basketball. Being a basketball player in a hockey town ment coaches had limited knowledge in skill and physical development specific to basketball players inside the community. This drove Nathan to ultimately finding his passion for learning and coaching both on court and in the weight room. In the world of social media and the internet, Nathan's mission is to help aspiring youth athletes have access to the right information to maximize their development both on and off the court.

Playing Experience:

4 years post secondary experience
- Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
- Keyano College

Coaching Experience

Owner and head coach of Hoop Strength Kelowna, a local Strength and Conditioning business.
Has worked with both USport and pro athletes in the past and present.
Coaching youth basketball for 7 years
Coaching Strength and Conditioning for 5 years

How we do what we do

We help create confidence

We give Personalized attention

For younger players, building skill mastery is crucial. It takes about 50-100 repetitions over 3 days to learn a new skill. It takes about 2500 accurate repetitions over three weeks to undo a skill learned incorrectly. We believe it's worth the investment to help younger athletes learn a skill accurately because getting better at the fundamentals makes it easier and more fun to play. There is more of an emphasis on practice than cramming in games. The focus is on possessions and developing fundamental skill through more repetition and group accountability. We constantly strive to bring good, competitive kids together so they can bring out the best in themselves and raise the level of the game in the Okanagan area.

We give Personalized attention

We provide smaller group instruction, i.e. 3-6 players per coach, so players receive a consistent message. It allows us to give our full attention to helping our athletes achieve their goals.

We Educate

Shockers Basketball Academy offers a more specialized approach to basketball, focusing on fundamentals and the "WHY" for doing things. We feel giving players solutions on the court allows them to be prepared in competition, thus building confidence. And the skills go far beyond the court. It becomes a standard for how they live their life. An additional focus is on physical fitness off the court in order to create better long term health habits. Through a partnership with local trainers, athletes are given the right tools to improve strength, speed, and overall fitness.

We create Community

We believe that environment is stronger than willpower and in this digital world, a lack of human connection, especially during the teen years, can lead to loneliness, anxiety and poor choices. We believe that sport is one of the last avenues to create bonds that go beyond a screen. We focus on team building in order to help teach communication skills, how to deal with failure and how to step outside their comfort zone to become the best version of themselves. Lastly, there would be an element of community so young athletes, at their most formative stage, felt connected, learned how to empower others and could improve their own personal leadership skills.

We support Family first

We believe that success cannot be measured by wins & losses alone but by the desire to come together when there is no game to cheer. It’s why we devote time to creating events for our families so they too can have a community around them.

We contribute

Helping out the Okanagan Food Bank by collecting over a 1000lbs of food.

We provide a platform for players to learn the power of impacting their community outside of the sport. We believe that if they can experience the power of giving to others at a young age, it will become a life long habit that will create change in their future communities. The Academy has already brought small groups to help out at the Gospel Mission and Okanagan Food Bank. The Academy believes that young players can develop more empathy and a greater desire to impact the communities they live in if they are given that avenue earlier in life.