Rye Ahronson, a former Warwick Academy student, had his most impressive game of the season for the Valley Forge Military Academy Trojans in Philadelphia last weekend.

Ahronson, the youngest player on his team, led his side against Pennsbury High School with a game-high 19 points, five assists and six rebounds.

The 16-year-old admits it was a tough transition moving to the United States to attend the Academy but believes his game has already come on leaps on bounds.

“When I first started at Valley Forge the military aspect of the school was very difficult to get used to,” Ahronson said.

“I was a ‘plebe’ for the first six weeks, which was very challenging, as I had to give up all my electronics and had to wake up at 5.30am every morning to do chores and marches.

“My favourite thing about the school has to be the basketball. Valley Forge has enabled me to practise my dream every day, helping me to advance my skills and have a better chance of achieving my goals.”

When asked about his aims for the season, Ahronson said: “My goal for the season is to get on the radar of a Division 1 college and help lead my team to a district or state championship.

“I’d like to play at a Division 1 level and hopefully play professionally.”

Ahronson credits his local coaches with getting him prepared to play at the US high school level.

“Training with Wolfpack [Elite Programme] and coach Chris Crumpler set me up with a great foundation and helped me settle in to the American basketball system very easily. The skills and basketball knowledge they taught me have allowed me to excel in Philadelphia being the youngest player on the varsity team and also a starter.”

Charles Peters, the founder of Wolfpack, believes that Ahronson could play at the highest level if he continues his progress.

“Since we started working with Rye at around eight or nine years of age, we knew that he was a stellar athlete,” Peters said.

“Over the years we focused on helping him develop his basketball skills in a way that complimented his natural athleticism and preaching good character traits like hard work, leadership, and teamwork.

“Rye has always embodied these traits. Our focus now with Rye is continued development and his college recruiting. We have had four players go off to play college basketball over the past three years.

“We are the only development programme in Bermuda that has produced college basketball scholarships for local athletes and Rye and several of our other upcoming prospects will almost certainly continue on with this new trend.”

Francis Bowe, the coach of Valley Forge Military Academy, has heaped praise on Ahronson’s work ethic.

“If Rye continues to develop at the rate he is now, he truly has a strong chance to play at the highest of levels. We are so proud of Rye”

Bowe plans to visit Bermuda in the spring to work with Wolfpack Elite players and run the rule over potential prospects for his basketball programme at Valley Forge.

For more details contact coach Crumpler, director of Wolfpack Hoops, at info@wolfpackhoops.com.