Meet Our Team of great dedicated Coaches:  

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Joanne Heslop coaches in our JumpStart program and assists in our girls programs. She brings her enthusiasm to the gym and encourages fun and skill development with all players.  Her basketball experience comes from playing in the Okanagan during her school days. Joanne recently completed the NCCP Learn to Train coaching clinic with Basketball Canada.

Joanne has two young daughters who play basketball and enjoys every opportunity in the back alley to assist in their player development while honing her own skills as a coach.

In her professional life, Joanne is Manager of the Student Transitions Project, a collaborative research project that tracks students from B.C.’s K-12 education system into post-secondary education. We have lost track of how long Joanne has been in or with our program as she started as parent watching her daughter Christine in our classes back when she was in grade 4. Christina and Katelyn her youngest daughter now now both coach with Joanne at Twelfth Avenue and is a student at studying coaching. 


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Shatha Drman arrived in Canada in 2001 and has been with the Balloholic program since 2013. She comes to our program highly qualified to coach. Shatha is a Bachelor of Science in Sports Education and a Master’s in Physical Education from University of Basrah in Iraq. She also has a background in gymnastics as both an athlete and coach. She is an NCCP coach L2T with First Aid and CPR training.

Shatha also has experience developing sports and training curriculum , aids and materials to instruct students and teams. She has been handling our classes at 12th Avenue Elementary for a few years now and is very reliable and we are happy to have her working with our students at 12th Ave.


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Clint Lomax is a former NCAA athlete at Western Oregon University where he was Defensive Player of the year in 1992. Clint also played his high school ball at one of Washington state's top programs; Garfield High where he was the Metro League MVP and first team All-State in 1989.

After high school Clint attended Chemeketa CC in Salem Oregon where his team posted a 33-0 season and won the NWAAC, he was again defensive player of the year in 1992. Clint played 10 years of semi pro basketball in Seattle and was also an assistant coach at Douglas College in 2008 when they won their first National Championship. 
Clint has  been with our program for several year but started in our classes 2 years ago. He previously assisted with our youth select teams we had several years ago and our semi pro ABA team in 2014.


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Wayne Best is a former NAIA athlete at SFU and one of the lower mainlands top high school coaches. Wayne is currently head coach at Byrne Creek and his teams are known for their aggressive style of play.

Wayne is a Centennial Secondary grad where he played under current U19 Women’s National Team coach Rich Chambers and was selected to the BC U17 provincial team in 1985.

He began his post secondary college career at Douglas College where his team won the BCAA title and placed third at the National Championships in 1989. Wayne continued his playing career at Simon Fraser University and was fortunate to play under former National team and Toronto Raptor coach Jay Triano. Wayne is a Level 3 NCCP coach.

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Nathan Briach is a  new addition to the Balloholics coaching team, a former basketball star and successful realtor Nathan Braich! Known for his historic performance at the AAA High School Provincials in British Columbia, Nathan earned First Team All-Star honors, leading the tournament with an astonishing average of 31.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 3.5 steals per game.

Nathan’s impressive journey didn’t stop there. He went on to win a national championship in college, competing against elite NCAA Division 1 players and future NBA stars. His professional career has taken him across the globe, where he not only represented Canada but also faced off against top teams in Costa Rica, China, the USA, Lithuania, and the U21 Chinese National team.

In addition to his basketball achievements, Nathan has found success as a realtor in the Burnaby, Vancouver and Fraser Valley area, bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge both on and off the court. We’re excited to welcome him back to the Balloholics family, where he’ll inspire the next generation of basketball players. Let’s make some unforgettable memories together.

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Aiden Domino is the latest addition to our program and like all our coaches has a long history with our program as he started in grade 4 as a student. He grew into playing on our last U13 rep team in 2017 and went on to play football at SFU until the program was cancelled. He continues to attend SFU and showed up last year wanting to assist in our program. We are happy to get him started in coaching and passing on his love of sports.  We are thrilled to have him aboard.