Thomas University Host International Basketball From Belgium

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The Thomas University Athletic Department opened their doors to a group of international students from Belgium on Monday, July 10 with a set of exhibition games.

The games featured a group of students from the 18-and-under basketball program based in Brussels, Belgium, the Youth Sports Exchange Belgium (YSE Belgium) team, at the TU Gymnasium against Camp Sports and Cam Sports South. Cam Sports and Cam Sports South are an AAU team comprised of 17-and-under players from various South Georgia high schools and are based out of Albany, GA.

The stop in the Rose City was the fourth stop for the group in 2023. The organization has been touring America every summer since 2006, with a southern delegation being formed in 2013. The teams from America won both of the games, with both matchups coming down to the wire. In game one, Cam Sports defeated YSE Belgium Team Orlando, 54-48. In game two, Cam Sports South defeated YSE-Belgium Team MIami, 45-40.

Photo Credit: A.D. Drew

The group began their day in the Rose City with a tour of the Forbes Campus at Thomas University by visiting various academic buildings, shopping in the Spirit Shop, and having lunch at the Hawks Nest.

After lunch, the group transitioned over to the Magnolia Campus and visited the athletic facilities, including the weight room and the new football locker room, before finally arriving at the TU Gym for some hoops action.

Prior to arriving in Thomasville, YSE Belgium has visited Atlanta, Athens, and Columbus in Georgia. Their post Thomasville experience will include Gainesville, Orlando, and Miami in Florida. The Belgians arrived in the United States in Atlanta on July 4 and will depart from Miami on July 18. For the group from Belgium, this was their first time stopping in the Rose City, but it is not their first time playing in South Georgia. In 2019 and 2022, YSE Belgium played exhibition games in Ashburn, GA. The group has also played games in the Atlanta region since 2016.

The visit by YSE Belgium was coordinated by A.D. Drew, the Director of Athletic Communications at Thomas University. Drew has been working with the YSE Belgium organization since 2013, when the southern delegation was first formed. Both Drew, Cam Sports, and YSE Belgium are looking forward to a continued partnership in future years.

ABOUT THE TOUR

YSE Belgium started in 2006 with a team traveling to St. Louis, MO. Since that time, additional teams have traveled to other U.S. cities, including a girls’ team to the Chicago, IL area. In 2013, a second boys’ delegation traveled to the Montgomery, AL area. Beginning in 2016, the Alabama team grew to two teams, Team Alabama and Team Atlanta. In 2019, the travel plans of the Southern group changed, when they rebranded as Team Orlando and Team Miami, and then began touring North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The, then, Alabama/Atlanta group, and now, Miami/Orlando group, has been coordinated by A.D. Drew, who is the former Director of Parks & Recreation in Tuskegee, AL and Turner County, GA.

The tour has grown from one team and a game or two to two teams traveling to the United States and a full-blown tour that is managed by A.D. Drew, who now serves as the Director of Athletic Communications at Thomas University. Drew, along with YSE-Belgium Director of Operations, Mark Peeters, have spent many hours planning this year’s tour. The pair have been working together each year since 2013, with 2020 and 2021 being the only years that the tour has not occurred, due to the pandemic.

Peeters’ son, Nick, attended high school in Alabama at Crenshaw Christian Academy in Luverne. Ironically, Drew refereed the younger Peeters when he played basketball at CCA. Nick is the current head coach of one of the two teams that will visit the United States. Peeters other son, Welsey, played in the series from 2013-2015, and has also been a member of the coaching staff of one of the teams that has visited the U.S. in the past. The elder Peeters’ has coordinated the travel of the youths to the United State since 2013, when he first partnered with Drew in Tuskegee, AL, where Drew was the founder of the Tuskegee Flyers Basketball Club and where Drew hosted multiple basketball tournaments throughout Eastern and Central Alabama and Western Georgia.

For complete coverage of Night Hawks Athletics, please visit www.tunighthawks.com to stay updated with the latest news, scores, game previews and recaps. Follow the Night Hawks on social media at @TU_Night_Hawks (Twitter), @tunighthawks (Instagram), and @thomasuniversityathletics (Facebook).

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