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ASDC Athlete of the Month: April 2023

Apr 12, 2023 | 4:02 PM

Alberta Sport Development Centre (ASDC) has returned to its Athlete of the Month program after a long pandemic-induced hiatus.

For April 2023, the selection is McKinley Penninga, a 17-year-old Red Deer resident, Grade 11 student at Lindsay Thurber High School, and competitive basketball athlete.

In the past year, McKinley competed for the LTCHS Raiders who recently captured the 4A Zone Championship and finished 7th at the ASAA 4A Provincial Championships. McKinley was named an All-Star at the Magrath Invitational and was also named MVP at both the Ross Sheppard and Calgary Notre Dame tournaments during the 2023 season.

(Supplied)

McKinley also plays club basketball with the Calgary Basketball Academy’s (CBA) U18 travel team which captured the Basketball Alberta U18 Provincials in 2022. This season, McKinley and CBA will travel to tournaments in Montreal, Toronto and Alberta, as well as compete in the Prairie Elite Basketball League.

McKinley has recently been named to Canletes’ “Top 50 Futures” list and was invited to play in Canletes’ 2023 All-Canadian All-Star Game in Toronto on April 8. (McKinley was unable to attend due to previous commitments)

In the classroom, McKinley is an Honours student at Lindsay Thurber. McKinley’s goals include playing basketball at a post-secondary level in USport in Canada, and pursuing a degree in Kinesiology while working towards a career in health care.

Outside of school and sports, McKinley works as a part-time student medical assistant. Since 2019, McKinley has served on the Alberta Children’s Hospital’s Child and Youth Advisory Council.

With McKinley’s strong work ethic, her undeniable athletic abilities, and her training experiences with ASDC-Central, she will surely continue to grow, develop, and succeed in her life and career in basketball!

(ASDC media release)