Two Red Deer College athletes are being celebrated for their leadership.
Shae Best, from Queens Basketball, and Spencer Klassen, from Kings Volleyball, won the Nexus Energy Technologies Student-Athlete Leadership Awards at the 16th annual Kings and Queens Scholarship Breakfast at the Pidherney Centre on Tuesday night.
This season Best, an Occupational and Physical Therapist Assistant Diploma student, connected on 44.4 per cent of her shots from the field, 50 per cent from beyond the three-point line and 100 per cent from the free throw line.
But she made an ever larger impact off the court, said Queens coach Ken King.
“Shae is one of the most community-minded people who has played for Queens Basketball during my tenure here,” said King.
“She is constantly volunteering in the community through coaching and other activities. Shae is always putting others first and has continued to build the Queens Basketball legacy of community being at the centre of what we do.”
Best volunteered at the Polyclinic on RDC’s main campus during the 2019 Canada Winter Games – some of her duties included answering the phone, directing athletes or coaches to the appropriate service and booking appointments. She was also a head basketball coach, volunteered at Bethany CollegeSide and was a student representative for the OPTA program.
Klassen, a fourth-year Bachelor of Education Elementary student, led the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference is scoring and was a South All-Conference First Team selection. After the playoffs he was selected as an ACAC Men’s Basketball Championship Second Team All-Star.
Clayton Pottinger, Kings head coach, said the RDC guard exemplified leadership skills on and off the court.
“Spencer spearheaded all of Kings Basketball’s community efforts again this year. He led his teammates out in the community to run clinics with local basketball children,” Pottinger said.
“Spencer is in his third year as a coach for the Central Alberta Basketball Club and he volunteered for the RDC Children’s Christmas Party in December. His roots in the community and his progressive outlook made Spencer a future leader in our region.”
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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