My name is Kian Afshar, and I’m in Grade 12, about to graduate this year. As a Lifer (I started in Kindergarten), I’ve learned a lot in my time at SJS, and held many different responsibilities. Most recently, I had the opportunity to be captain of the Senior Boys Basketball team.
Looking back on this season, there is a lot to be proud of. Many of the lessons we’ve learned as a team on the court will help us well beyond our time at SJS. Or maybe it will help some of you now, as you are in the midst of your SJS journey. I wanted to share those thoughts with you today.
Reflections from the Court
At Provincials, we picked up three big wins against Queen Margaret, Credo Christian and Immaculata to book our spot in the final. Then, after a hard-fought battle with Similkameen, we just never seemed to find our shooting touch and came up short against the underdogs.
But one game does not even come close to defining what this team accomplished this season.
We took on possibly the hardest schedule, with the most games in SJS history, and battled through every single one of them. We won the ISAA Tournament, the Mustang Classic, and SJS Jam, on top of beating top teams in higher divisions. That does not just disappear because of one night.
When I think about our team’s success, and though we’ve had some strong recognition for our teammates, it’s not our accolades I think of first; it’s what our team became. At the start of the season, we were not the tightest-knit team, but over time we grew closer, learned to trust each other, and built a brotherhood I will truly never forget. Getting the chance to be captain meant a lot to me, and I am genuinely grateful for every one of my teammates.
Especially in basketball, over the last two years we have built an environment where younger students can look at the Senior Boys and Senior Girls teams and say, “That can be me one day.”
And that impact isn’t limited to basketball. It can be volleyball, ultimate, or whatever sport SJS ends up dominating in the future. It could be music, drama, or something the school does not even offer this year. Find something you are passionate about. Find people who love that same thing, and work toward a common goal. Because when you put a group of people together who truly love what they do, special things can happen.
And it is okay to be unsure at the start.
I will tell you a quick story about my first experience playing senior basketball. After the first practice of my Grade 10 year, I went up to Coach and told him to put me back on the junior team. I was struggling. I was smaller, less experienced, and honestly more scared than everybody else out there. But if Coach had given in and sent me back down that day, maybe I wouldn’t have had the chance to contribute to that provincial win in 2025, or maybe the blue banner wouldn’t have got put up on the wall at all.
So be comfortable being uncomfortable. Because if you want to accomplish something, you are going to have to make sacrifices, and you are going to have to push yourself. A lot of the best things that will happen in your life probably will not start with you feeling ready. They will start with you feeling unsure, and choosing to do it anyway.
Looking back as a Lifer
Over 13 years at SJS, I watched the school change in many ways, through construction, new staff, new principals, and new rules. Yet it always kept the same character: a welcoming environment that made everybody feel included, and emphasized shaping well-rounded people.
I still remember being a Junior School student, walking through the halls and looking at the Grade 12s in awe, never even imagining what it would feel like to one day be one of them. Then you blink, and somehow you have taken your last math, english or physics class. You slowly realize you are now the one walking past younger students in those same hallways, inspiring them to one day be like you.
If there is one thing I will take with me, it is a real appreciation for how special it is to grow up in a place that always felt like home. Thank you for a great 13 years.
