The Ottawa Sport Council is pleased to introduce Andrew DiMillo as our latest Community Sport Hero!
As Program Director/Founder of Ottawa Next Level-X and President/Founder of the National Capital Hoops Circuit, DiMillo has expanded and brought basketball opportunities to Ottawa while making high-level basketball more accessible.
“The way that Andrew has not just progressed the level of basketball in our area, but what is being offered to the kids, and the support that’s available to the kids, it’s astronomical,” says nominator Jeff Wilson, a veteran local basketball volunteer himself.
“I’m blown away by what he’s been able to do. His vision and his passion has just driven basketball in this area in such a huge way.”
A “homegrown success story,” as Wilson calls him, DiMillo played high school basketball with the All Saints Avalanche and in the Kanata Youth Basketball Association house league.
While studying at the University of Ottawa, he was asked if he’d like to coach house league, and he figured why not?
By the time he graduated with biopharmaceutical sciences and education degrees, DiMillo’s basketball portfolio had expanded to coaching teams at Bell High School, with the Kanata Cavs competitive program and the KYBA house league, while serving as a league convenor.
His passion – and workload – hasn’t faded since then.
“I fell in love with it right away,” DiMillo smiles. “And it hasn’t changed at all in 15 years.”
He loves the tactical nature of the sport, and especially the team aspect.
“And I’ve met really cool people in basketball,” he adds, noting he was helped by many to carve out his path. “I’ve always tried to be ambitious. If it’s a passion of mine, I might as well try to make the most of it.”
Crafting a hybrid club/prep path in Ottawa basketball
Ottawa had been behind when prep-style basketball first emerged in Canada, but that changed fairly quickly, recount ONL-X leaders, who tip their hat to other programs that have been highly successful in opening up opportunities for local players by travelling to showcase tournaments and leagues in Toronto and the U.S.
But as local players were starving for opportunities during COVID, and given the number of top-tier players the capital was developing, they saw a need to launch ONL-X, which has the slogan “experience, exposure, excellence.”
The hybrid club/prep program runs from September to July, appealing to players who may not want to leave their home school to join a full prep program, and their reduced travel schedule helps lower fees.
“In basketball, it’s always tough, because we have a lot of socioeconomically disadvantaged youth, maybe more so than some of the other big sports in the area,” DiMillo signals. “There’s always people who need a hand, and honestly, when I first started coaching, there was nothing available to help these guys.”
In his early years, DiMillo would help pay to get his teams to tournaments in Toronto or Montreal, where they’d sleep in school cafeterias.
“These kids need financial support, they need emotional support, they need guidance,” notes the current coach of the ONL-X senior team. “Basketball is so important to them. That’s really where they’re gonna put a lot of their attention, so we realize how important it is to help them.”
In recent years, enhanced fundraising and running their own tournaments has helped limit player fees. And another big piece of the puzzle is the National Capital Hoops Circuit. Now amid its second season, the heavily-scouted Circuit features 30 teams from the Ottawa-Gatineau region, plus Montreal and farther.
“He’s created a platform for these kids to shine right here,” Wilson highlights. “Not just for this club, but for every program in this area, and whenever we have people coming from across Ontario and Quebec, that just raises the quality of the product.
“It’s a huge step for basketball in this area.”
Building future leaders a chief objective
With the support of many outstanding coaches and volunteers, ONL-X has accumulated numerous provincial championships and North Pole Hoops League titles at different levels among its U19, U17 and U16 boys, and U19 and U16 girls’ programs.
But DiMillo says what’s most rewarding is when past players are keen to come back and help out, a sign of their own passion for the sport.
The Circuit has also helped create paid learning opportunities in multi-media, minor officials and support staff roles for current ONL-X players, or others who are now in university or college and can earn some money to help pay their tuition.
DiMillo loves seeing great players excel at the next level of basketball, and he also loves seeing great scorekeepers who on a good pathway, or top players refereeing younger kids’ games who look up to them in a dual capacity.
Helping to build leaders is what he finds most rewarding.
“More kids are playing basketball, and if they’re playing sports, they’re focused and they’re motivated, and we hope that it can help uplift all the other parts of their life too,” DiMillo underlines. “I tell my players, ‘At the end of the day, I want you to be good people and care about your teammates, care about your program, care about your academics.’ That’s all going to help them in the future.”
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The OSC Community Sport Hero features aim to highlight the selfless contributions of dedicated staff, volunteers and sport organizations in Ottawa. Do you know someone dedicated to sport in Ottawa? Help us continue to tell the stories of community sport in Ottawa and nominate a person or organization doing great work in the sport community!