Nike Basketball Camp Winnipeg

DARON RACHAR LEONARD

Camp Director

As a player and competitor, Daron is accomplished in ways that very few can claim, winning multiple championships at every level. Attending A.B. Lucas HS in London, ON, he led the Vikings to City Championships, SWOSSA championships, and OFSAA provincials every year of his 3 year varsity career, with a top finish of 7th place in Ontario at the “AAAA” level. He subsequently trained at Laurinburg Prep (Laurinburg, NC), winning the unofficial national championship against Hargrave Military Academy (FL) at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC.

In his collegiate career, Daron was known as a prolific scorer. He briefly competed for his hometown Western Mustangs prior to competing at the highest level in the country with the Carleton Ravens, winning multiple national titles. While developing in an environment driven by competition and constructive conflict led by the coaching staff of Dave Smart, widely considered the most successful coach in the history of Canadian basketball, Daron was exposed to a philosophy and culture that challenges you to exist outside of your comfort zones. The personal accolades and awards - including conference all-star, multiple games of 30+ points, and several tournament all-star awards (Raptors Invitational, House-Laughton Classic, Naismith Classic) - are secondary to the lessons taken away from his time with the Ravens. Daron briefly played overseas prior to suffering a career-ending knee injury, but was able to achieve the personal goal of playing professionally in quality leagues (Swiss LNA, Italy Serie A) as a Canadian import.

Upon returning to the game in his capacity as a coach, Daron specialized in player development and coordinated defensive schemes for the H.B. Beal Raiders (London, ON), which was (and still is) a perennial contender at the provincial level in Ontario. Working with renowned coaches Tony Marcotullio (Fanshawe College) and Angelo Provenzano (London Basketball Academy), the Raiders won the City Championship, SWOSSA qualifiers and ranked top 10 in the “AAAA” division in every year, with the highest ranking of #4 in the province behind Eastern Commerce (Toronto), Henry Carr (Toronto) and Milliken Mills (Markham) in 2009. During his time at Beal, Daron had the opportunity to be involved in the development of multiple future NCAA and CIS players.

When his personal life brought him to Winnipeg, MB, Daron again found a passion for the game in player development, this time working with the University of Winnipeg Wesmen, and helping them to become the first Wesmen team in the CIS era to earn a playoff berth. He worked primarily with the players who would become the programs top players, and Conference All-Stars.

Eager to bring his own philosophy and culture to forefront of a program, Daron established the Northstar Sports Foundation, a non-profit organization primarily for inner-city youth with a focus on social and athletic development for post-secondary preparation. As the program has grown, it has opened the door for additional programming, including a training academy and AAU program. This has all led to Northstar Preparatory Institute, and pioneering the first basketball program of its kind in the province of Manitoba. Buoyed by the established development structure and a proven track record of teaching fundamentals as well as pushing established amateur talent to the professional level, Daron continues to break barriers and has now established Northstar as a top tier program in North America.

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