About Chatham Kings
We're building a place for Chatham-Kent kids to play, belong and grow — while working toward the dream of bringing professional basketball to our community.
Chatham Kings is a basketball organisation based in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada. It runs a weekday after-school basketball program for kids ages 8–14, coaches private and small-group training for ages 8–18, runs camps and clinics during school breaks, holds scholarship spots for families who need them, and operates adult leagues and drop-in runs for players 18 and over. Its long-term goal is to bring a professional basketball team to Chatham-Kent.
Why we exist
This started with a gym, a coach, and kids who wanted to get better. What became clear quickly is that the basketball is only half of it. The other half is the stretch between the last school bell and dinner — what a kid does with it, and who’s in the room while they do.
So the programs got built around both. The after-school program is a real answer for weekday afternoons: homework gets done, skills get coached, and kids belong to something. Training is for the player chasing a specific goal. Camps fill the school breaks. And scholarship spots exist so what a family earns never decides whether their kid gets to play.
What “From After School to the Pros” means
That's the path we're building as an organisation — from after-school programs today toward a professional team for Chatham-Kent. It's about where the club is going, not a promise about any one player.
We’re building the ladder from the bottom up, in the order that makes sense: programs kids can join this year, then leagues and teams as demand supports them, and a professional side as the long-term goal. Each rung has to hold weight before the next one gets built. Read the full plan on The Dream.
Where we fit in Chatham-Kent
Chatham-Kent basketball is bigger than any one organisation. Local house-league and travel programs build the foundation. School teams and group training sharpen serious young players. Chatham Kings adds the weekday program, the individual coaching, and the community layer around them.
We're not registering a club program with Ontario Basketball, and we're not here to replace the organisations already running rep and travel basketball in Chatham-Kent. Our programs help kids develop — and make the teams that already exist.We’re independent of, and not affiliated with, any other local organisation.
The professional goal
A professional team for Chatham-Kent is a goal, not a done deal. Nothing is confirmed and no league has committed, and we won’t pretend otherwise. What moves it forward is community demand — pledges, season-ticket interest, and local businesses backing the programs underneath it. If you want to see pro basketball here, you can help on Back the Dream.