Former Raptors coach Brittni Donaldson aims to change the future for young athletes

They say one is the loneliest number, and it’s a sad number when you consider that is the number of female assistant coaches the Toronto Raptors have had in its 27-year history.

Brittni Donaldson not only made history in 2019 when she was hired as the first female assistant coach for the team, but also at 26 years old, she was the youngest assistant coach in the league at the time.

Fast forward three years later and she is an assistant coach for the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s (CEBL) Hamilton Honey Badgers, as well as their director of coaching development.

Donaldson is also the co-founder of Strata Athletics, a holistic youth sports program.

“Strata Athletics kind of grew from this passion I had to make impact societally through sport,” she told CityNews.

“We see that a lot of youth aren’t actually developing [their skills] anymore and that it’s a lot about competition and performance. They’re ranking eight-year-old kids now, it’s quite wild.”

“So we’re trying to sort of turn that on its head and refocus it back to development and not just on-court basketball development, but life and leadership development and all the other things that come along with playing sport.”

“Actually, a lot of the things we’re doing with my youth program, I’ve actually kind of brought here, into this space with the Badgers.”

Brittni Donaldson, former assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors. INSTAGRAM

The Honey Badgers are red-hot with a 6-1 record, the best record in the league. They also are perfect at home with a 3-0 record and are hoping to improve to 4-0 on Thursday when they host the Newfoundland Growlers.

“All of these guys are extremely coachable. They want to get better,” Donaldson said when asked what has made this roster connect so well this season.

“And as a coach, that’s a dream. You want to work with a group of players that wants to take what you have to say and apply it, and have a great attitude towards being coachable and be open-minded about different things you might be teaching.”

Donaldson also credits the Honey Badgers head coach Ryan Schmidt, who’s in his third season with the club, for the environment that is allowing not only the players to grow but the coaching staff to flourish.

“I feel really fortunate being able to be a part of a new organization and to learn a different system, different philosophy and work under coach Schmidt. Coach Schmidt genuinely cares about each of his staff members’ development, takes the time to get to know each person, and takes the steps toward making sure that that person has the opportunities and the tools they need to succeed. It’s just been a blessing and I’m really happy to be here.”

While Donaldson is helping craft the future of basketball players with her Strata Athletics Program and through her role with the Honey Badgers, she is also celebrating a milestone moment in her personal life. The Iowa native, who has lived in Canada for the last five years, just received her permanent residency card and couldn’t be more proud to see how the sport she loves has grown in her adopted country.

“It’s obviously grown a lot in Canada after winning the championship in 2019. Now the addition of the CEBL league, a league this is growing so fast, so quickly. There are ten teams now all across Canada,” she said.

“I see this new excitement about basketball at every age and stage, and I see more kids out in their driveway shooting hoops and I think all of that is also because of this new league and there’s so much talent here in Canada. It’s great to have a place for this talent to play in their home country.”