By Neto Baptiste
Young hoopsters taking part in this year’s Just Hoops Basketball Youth Summer League, scheduled to run from August 10-31, will benefit from an added feature which will allow them to get much needed court time under their belts.
This is according to the organiser of the camp and national men’s basketball coach, George Hughes, who said that over the years, young players were drilled in different aspects of the game, but were never really given ample opportunities put those skills to use in an actual game situation.
“There needs to be more emphasis placed on testing after you’ve practiced, so it’s not just a camp where you would just come and practice. We’re actually putting in some testing elements on the weekend so that the participants that are involved, we will teach them a skill and test it on the weekend in game-time situations, where we will use the clock, referees and everything, so it’s just a simulation of what takes place in a game situation,” he said.
Revealing that the Flyers Basketball camp will run from Monday to Thursdays with actual coaching sessions, Huges explained that on Fridays the participants will rest before returning on the weekends for actual matches.
The Flyers Basketball team coach explained the importance of making competitive gametime sessions available to the young players.
“The knowledge that I have at the national set-up is that some of the players, even though they have good talent, game experience is lacking, so we need to try and figure out how we can give them that game-time simulation so that they can be ready and apply their skills because they are skillful, but sometimes all of the elements that comes with the game seems to sometimes makes them very nervous,” he said.
Hughes revealed also that opportunities to play in tournaments outside of Antigua could be afforded to participants starting next year.
“I am in talks with some people out of the New York Tri-state area in terms of some coaches who host a camp in the Bahamas called Caribbean Hoop Fest, and they have been asking me to bring a team from Antigua for the longest while, and with their help, I’ve made contact with a lot of Antiguans living there who would like to even come and play for the team, but first, I want to see if I can strengthen our base here first because it’s a tournament that hundreds of coaches attend, high school coaches and college coaches attend,” the coach said.
Registration for the camp is $300.00 with early registrants paying $250.00. Participants will receive a reversible jersey, a camp t-shirt and refreshments. The camp will cater for boys and girls between the ages 13-19 years old and will be held at the JSC basketball complex.
Interested individuals can call 464-6501 or send an email to [email protected] for more information.
