Horton High School basketball teams win Nova Scotia Division 1 championships
It was a rare feat pulled off by basketball players with Horton High School this weekend as both the boys and girls teams won their respective provincial Division 1 championships.
On their home court in Greenwich, Kings County, the Horton boys beat Sackville High 84–75 on Sunday.
"The atmosphere at our gym was electric," said Horton boys coach Kevin Veinot. "It was a very memorable and meaningful experience for all the boys."
While the Horton boys won all three of their games by a combined 96 points, the Horton girls were even more impressive.
They beat Cole Harbour in Saturday's provincial final 100–61. They also whipped Charles P. Allen 87–53 and Cobequid Educational Centre 98–43.
"We just had people hitting the shots all weekend when they needed to," said Horton girls coach Jennifer Veinot. "It really was a very successful weekend offensively for the girls."
A family affair
The double championship is truly a family affair for the Veinots. The two coaches are husband and wife and their twins, Keevan and Jayda, played on the boys and girls teams.
"The household is very busy," said Kevin Veinot, who has also coached his kids in baseball, soccer and track and field.
"I'm also an assistant coach with the Acadia Axemen, so I would have two practices every night and my wife would also have a practice every night and every weekend we'd be on the road."
Both Horton teams had hectic schedules. The boys team won 33 of their 35 games. The girls won 34 of their 35 games. Their only loss was in Quebec against an older team that played in a college league.
Kevin and Jennifer Veinot both played college basketball and met while working together at a summer basketball camp in 1988.
Jennifer Veinot played for the University of New Brunswick after a successful high school career with Cobequid Education Centre.
Kevin Veinot played at Acadia University and was an all-Canadian power forward. The Lunenburg County native led the Park View Education Centre Panthers to the provincial high school final in his Grade 12 season where they lost to a powerhouse Queen Elizabeth High School team.
Keevan and Jayda Veinot will again be key players in the Horton lineup next year. They'll both be in Grade 12 when they attempt to repeat as provincial champions.
The last team to win boys and girls Division 1 championships in the same year was Citadel High School in 2009.
