Duke star to be part of YMCA cage clinic

Van Wert independent sports/YMCA information

The YMCA of Van Wert County recently announced a partnership with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants for discounted game tickets and a free clinic at the Y with Mad Ants players and coaches for those grades K (4 years and up) through sixth grade.  The clinic will be held at the Y on Tuesday, February 7.

It has just been announced that former Duke University and NBA standout Christian Laettner will be one of the coaches participating in this clinic.

The Fort Wayne Mad Ants recently hired Laettner as assistant coach, pending a background check. He will be working full time with Mad Ants Head Coach Steve Gansey, who was recently promoted to that position.

Coach Laettner will be joined by other Mad Ants players and coaches at the clinic, to be held at the Y on February 7, at 6-7 p.m. for grades K-2, and 7-8 p.m. for grades 3-6.  The price of the clinic is $7.50, which includes an upper level ticket to a Mad Ants game, or tickets can be purchased for the Sunday, February 12, Mad Ants game by completing a form at the Y or online at www.wepay.com/tickets/vanwertymca, which will include the clinic free of charge.

Laettner, the former Duke All American famous for his last second shot in the East Regional Finals of the 1992 NCAA tournament that gave his team the win over Kentucky, is looking to kick start his professional coaching career in Fort Wayne.

“I am thrilled to be joining the Mad Ants organization! I am very excited and looking forward to working with the players, staff and organization as an assistant coach,” said Laettner. “The opportunity to work closely with developing players to improve their game and make it to the next level has always been a goal of mine. Many thanks to Jeff Potter and the Mad Ants organization for giving me this opportunity — go Mad Ants!”

Laettner holds the NCAA record for most NCAA tournament games played, as his Duke Blue Devils made four consecutive Final Four appearances. He was also the only college player to be a member of the “Dream Team” that won a gold medal in the 1992 Olympics. After leaving Duke, Laettner had a successful NBA career from 1992-2005, and he has been running the Christian Laettner Basketball Academy for the last two years.

“We are excited to add Christian to our basketball staff,” said Mad Ants President Jeff Potter. “It is rare when you are able to add a person of Christian’s experience and intelligence to a staff this late in the season, and I am eager to see him use his vast knowledge of the game to help with Coach Gansey’s already impressive turnaround of this team.”

“Not only is it great to have a player of this caliber coach a team so close to home for us, but it is amazing to be able to offer the youths within our community a chance to meet him and work with him during a clinic at our Y,” added YMCA Program Director Mitch Price.

Information about this and other programs available at the Van Wert YMCA can be found by calling 419.238.0443 or visiting the organization’s website at www.vwymca.org.

The YMCA of Van Wert County is partially funded by The Van Wert County Foundation and United Way of Van Wert County.