The Ottawa Sport Council is pleased to introduce Kian Nejad as our latest Community Sport Hero!
Kian leads the BGC Ottawa Thunderbolts program, which has become a force and an inspiration on the Canadian prep basketball circuit.
The BGC Ottawa Thunderbolts program provides youths with life-changing opportunities in sport, education and leadership at no cost. This includes quality equipment, high performance training, transportation and tournaments – the complete competitive sport experience.
Mirroring the mission of BGC Ottawa – which has worked for over a century to help many local children/youth, primarily from low-income communities and challenging backgrounds – it’s not just about winning basketball games for the Thunderbolts. The program’s pillars are commitment, personality and respect.
“Basketball is important because of everything it comes with,” Kian underlines, noting that players must maintain a minimum grade point average to play with the team. “But we’re not going to challenge you and not provide the help. So, if I’m going to say you have to get the grades, I’m offering you tutors.”
The BGC’s clubhouse offers after-school food and a safe place to hang out with friends at night, plus additional educational and volunteering opportunities.
“It’s more than a sport – it’s a brotherhood,” signals Thunderbolts player Lucky Lubangi, who recently committed to join the Lakehead University Thunderwolves next season. “We usually overstay our welcome after practice, but that’s because we just want to talk with each other. We love each other as brothers.”
Basketball has a lengthy history at BGC Ottawa, but only recently have the Thunderbolts begun playing among the region’s most competitive clubs and prep programs.
Kian first lit the candle when a group of young players were desperate for recreation during COVID and began playing and training together at the Ron Kolbus Clubhouse on Dumaurier Ave. off Pinecrest Rd. in the west end.
In a few short years of competition, the Thunderbolts have grown from castoffs into respected competitors and champions.
They have won numerous high-level tournaments in recent years, and are currently leading the North Pole Hoops Showcase League Grade 12 standings at 7-1.
On top of the U19 boys who put them on the map, a Thunderbolts girls’ team plays in the Eastern Ontario Basketball Association’s competitive ranks, and there is also a Thunderbolts junior boys’ team.
Kian knows well that many local youth don’t have the means to access high-level basketball opportunities, along with the academic and life support required to obtain post-secondary scholarships. He experienced that first-hand, having moved to Canada when he was in elementary school and being raised by a single mom.
“I love being there for the youth, because I was that youth,” reflects Kian, who hopes to inspire future leaders through the commitment he’s shown to developing the Thunderbolts.
“It’s almost a cycle,” he adds. “Someone did this for me — in different ways — but, I’m hoping a few of them grow up and do this for the next generation.”