This is the first in a series of interviews with Power Conference team leaders. We spoke with Chris Exilus Head of Athletics for Royal Crown this past weekend In Daytona Beach.
About the Program
Program Excellence: Royal Crown is the #1 basketball program in Canada. What sets it apart from other elite programs globally, and how do you maintain this standard?
“I think for us what sets us apart is we go all the way from 7th grade to 12th grade, we have 10 high performance teams. We have 18 championships in just under 4 years, this is our 4th year. What sets us apart is our development from middle school all the way up. All our teams are committed to the standard of excellence that has never been seen. All the kids you see wear Royal Crown jerseys are on the honor roll because our standard is 80% so we have a true student athlete.”
International Recruitment: What is your approach to recruiting international students, and how does this diversity enrich the program?
“For us you know we are very blessed for having a large network so we feel like our program and our school and our environment is a program that will help kids from all over the world especially kids from Canada. If you can play, we will try to find you.”
Training and Development: Can you elaborate on the personalized fitness plans and basketball skills training that Royal Crown offers? How do they prepare athletes for collegiate and professional success?
“We have a full-time strength and conditioning coach, we have full time coaches, we allocate 2-3 coaches per team for any given day. At practice we have 2-4 coaches on the floor to make sure that we are continuing our level of excellence. We run the same defensive concept the same offense and defense concepts for all our 10 teams from middle school all the way up. We believe in a progressive way of developing we are high on tune and focusing all the things that make the players play the right way. We believe in playing the right way. Moving the ball going from good to great.”
Coaching and Leadership
Coaching Philosophy: How does your professional playing and coaching experience shape your leadership at Royal Crown?
“When people talk about programs, I think we need to connect with all the programs that have been going on throughout the history of basketball. I have identified the programs that I see or what I look like, people talk about a program that it is something they do and this is my life’s work. I have been thinking about this program in my mind for many many years. Having the ability to do this and lead this program is a blessing.
Elite Coaching Team: How do the backgrounds of your coaching staff enhance the program, and how do you ensure they stay aligned with Royal Crown’s vision?
“We run it just like a pro team I have won at every single level pro, high school, college as a player and a coach. We treat this no different than a pro team our players are past McDonald’s All Americans, past player of the year. A lot of our coaches played D1 or played basketball at a high level and have a lot of experience at all levels high school, pro, and college. We put that all together to create our developmental program.”
Mentorship: What role does mentorship play in the development of your athletes both on and off the court?
“It’s everything, we are engaged in togetherness. We care about these kids, this is a real thing it’s not about just you play here and then you leave. Our alumni still connects in our program being at Crown means something. Being at Royal Crown is a real thing when our girls say or our boys say I’m a Crown girl or I’m a Crown boy it means everything to them. You can see the way we play that we play for each other we play to represent ourselves and all we want is an opportunity. So when we go away like here in Florida were not only representing our school we are representing our country because that allows more opportunity for those who are with us and those we play against. Being the first Canadian team to be in the final four in the Grind Session we take a lot of pride in were not here just for a final four we are here to win a championship.”
Academic-Athletic Balance
Academics and Athletics: How do you ensure your athletes succeed academically while pursuing elite-level basketball?
“So we have a full-time academic advisor in our guidance counselor program and we have a pathway to college level D1 and D2. So we have dedicated personnel for our athletes.”
Educational Support: What specific resources or programs do you offer to help students balance these dual demands?
“I think its our school and our program is together it’s not like were separated, we are a real school it’s in a real place, the kids wear a uniform, our board and our ownership group is dedicated to making this one of the best schools in the world. We are dedicated to making sure our athletes are socially in a good place they are not just going in to class with athletes they are in class with other students. We are an international school so we have kids from all over the world Dubai, Japan, China everywhere all around the world even Australia the list goes on and on. We all engage with ourselves every day and making sure you understand the gift that you have and how to treat it properly and the impact that you have on the school. We have had a valedictorian and the president of student council on our girls team and our kids are engaged in the school experience and the academic experience.”
Program Opportunities
International Exposure: How have the international trips impacted the growth and perspective of your student-athletes
“So last year we went to China, and we visited a few cities, we visited Beijing and Lanzhou we played a university team and a pro team. I think it gave our kids a bigger sense of we’re a global program so it helped with the awareness of the program and also gave the kids a chance to go see the Great Wall of China and see different things.”
Alumni Success: Can you share some success stories of former players who went on to NCAA Division 1 schools or the NBA? What does this success mean for the program?
We currently have Shayeann Day-Wilson at LSU she was the ACC freshman of the year at Duke and she came from our program. We have at the University of San Diego David Simon, we send division 1 players all the time.”
Vision and Goals
Future Aspirations: What are your goals for Royal Crown over the next five years? How do you see the program evolving?
“I think for us is to evolve and progress and to show kids that playing the right way and not caring about your own personal stats is the way to success. I have coaches coming from all over the world, from the pro level to the high school level and they know how we play. We are trying to teach these kids to play the right way we, live in a world that is all about you we are teaching our kids its not about you its about everyone and us being together. We value playing the right way it is really important for us so when you see our kids playing defense or passing the ball it is because they are connected to each other. They believe in it, they believe basketball is an art.”
Personal Vision: What drives your passion for combining elite athletics with high-level academics, and how do you define success in this role?
“To me it means everything because our school is located in Scarborough it is where I am from I grew up in the area where that school is, I was one of the players that had to leave and go play high school basketball in the states because there wasn’t programs like this so for me having to be able to cultivate this experience and give the opportunity to these kids who I know are as good as any players around the world and growing them it means everything.”
Grind Session and Community
Grind Session Impact: As a member of the Grind Session, how does competing in this circuit benefit your athletes’ development and exposure?
“I think with us it gives us our ultimate test, the Grind Session offers us the opportunity to play against players we usually wouldn’t play and play in environments we usually wouldn’t play. It is the ultimate level of competition. It is one of the best leagues in the world and our kids want to know how good they are and this is a measuring stick for us. We love the competition we love to be able to compete. We just want to be in a situation and have the opportunity to show how good we are.”
Community Engagement: How does Royal Crown foster a sense of community and pride among its athletes, staff, and alumni?
“You can see the support that we have with each other that we all watch our players that are currently in college and they come and see the players when they get a break and have a workout with the kids they speak to them, they have personal connections, we have players who haven’t played for us in years but they are still in that group chat, they have access to all the players who have ever set foot in the Royal Crown building. It makes it special because we all care. Being from Canada you don’t often get these opportunities so we understand that and what we need to do this year is doing something great to offer more opportunities for everyone.”
