Athletes who have put Fort McMurray on the map

Written by Curtis J. Phillips
Wednesday, 25 January 2012 15:40

Louis Barham is just one of the elite athletes to help put Fort McMurray on the map.(Sean McLennan)I just finished watching the flick Red Tails (see C.J. In the Flicks on page 6) which tells the story of the African American pilots of the Second World War, better known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

It got me thinking about who have been some of our outstanding African American  athletes here in Fort McMurray over the years.

Shawn Wheeler

Shawn Wheeler was a product of local minor hockey and would go on to become the first African American (he was born in New York) hockey coach in ECHL history when he took charge of the Charlotte Checkers in 1998.

Prior to that, he played seven years of minor professional hockey and while in college he was instrumental in assisting the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in back-to-back NCAA championships in 1989 and 1990.

I still remember Shawn and his brother Banks along with a few other kids doing championship breakdancing back in the 1980s.

Wes Herbert

Wes Herbert was an outstanding hoopster and my best friend.

A year-and-a-half after I made the move from Winnipeg to Fort McMurray in 1982, Wes, nicknamed Greyhound, followed.

For six years, Wes, who had played hoops at the University of Winnipeg, was a stellar member of our community donating his time running clinics for kids.

At the age of 28 in 1989, he decided to go back to college and headed south to Lethbridge College.

While there, he caught the eye of the men’s basketball coach and made the team...leading them as a six-foot-four small forward to a national finals championship.

Sadly, a year later, Wes, who was renowned for his high-flying slam dunks, was killed in a car crash along with his wife Cheryl and four-year-old son Brendan.

Colin and Dwayne Vigilance

Colin and Dwayne Vigilance were also top hoopsters helping Composite High to the provincials, where, if recollection proves right, they finished third.

Dwayne is now coach for the Keyano Huskies women’s basketball team.

Louis Barham and Nicholle McKenzie

Speaking of the Huskies, they have two stars in Louis Barham and Nicholle McKenzie.

Barham, a native of Palmdale, Calif., is in his second year with the Huskies and was an ACAC All Star last season.

I nicknamed him The Kangaroo Kid for his exceptional jumping abilities. Although he is only six-foot-four, if the stats were kept, he would no doubt lead the 14-team provincial college league in dunks.

Barham is also great with the kids, as last year with the Keyano Sports Outreach we met with more than 3,500 local students and he left them all smiling with his acrobatic dunks and keen sense of humour (which usually made fun of my stomach, which in his opinion is in the shape of a basketball—I think I just have a small chest).

McKenzie is a rookie player from Ajax, Ont. and at six-foot-one can Windex the boards then dribble the distance of the court under pressure and do a quick spin move for a layup.

Unfortunately she has been battling a knee injury.

This is just a small sampling from off the top of my head—and no matter the cultural background, we are proud of all athletes who help put Fort McMurray on the map.

Catch you on the rebound.

Louis Barham is just one of the elite athletes to help put Fort McMurray on the map. Sean McLennan