Coaching Camp for junior cagers concludes

Angu Rajendran

The Christmas holidays, though the most festive and enjoyed family holidays of all, is also a trying time for parents with young children. However, one fortunate group of parents of about fifty to sixty kids between the ages of 5 to15 years managed to send them to the 'Beginners Basketball Camp' held at Amal International School organized by Coach Gerald Jacob and his friends.

The camp which is now going to be a regular holiday feature was held for ten days starting from the 18th of December to the of January 02, 2010. Held every morning from 7.30am to 9.30am and evenings from 3.30pm to 5 pm it allowed the kids to expend their energy while building up their basketball skills and some free time for parents to get on with their Christmas activities.

The kids who have thoroughly enjoyed their time at the camp had many different things to say "We learnt some rules that we never knew before, like 'back court pass' and 'double dribble" said nine year old Taher Ismail who has tried not to miss any classes.

"We have definitely improved our stamina with all the new drills that coach made us do" said twelve year old Ayesha Afzal who was echoed by almost all the girls present at the camp. "Playing with the boys has definitely made us faster" said Natasha De Alwis.

"I learnt how to defend the other team from passing when they get a side throw" said eight year old Umar Zuhair who has not missed a single session. He, like most of the other boys loves to play with new friends.

Every session started with stamina building and skill building drills for about an hour and is finished with a series of ten minute matches for the students to develop team-work. 'We learnt to strategise with players we have never met before.' said Tasneem Dawoodbhoy.

The youngest students have concentrated on their dribbling and shooting. 'Almost all of them were like five year old Aaqil Qadir - unable to even hit the board with the ball when they tried to shoot. Now, at the end of ten days, they are all able to shoot with confidence and that gives them a real high,' says Coach Gerald Jacob father of four kids aged 2 to 8years.

The entire group were also asked to watch a match on the last day between the under 19 Amal International Boys team and The Over-35 Stallions Club men's team to understand the speed with which the game is actually played. "This is a practice session on how to get on with people while at the same time trying to succeed in life", said some of the parents. Children can never learn this kind of social behavior and team-work in the class-room while they are busy trying to learn history, geography, maths, etc.

Now there is a new market for basketball - young parents. They are very keen to learn basketball. 'It will give us the exercise we need and teach us team-work as well as be a regular activity in the evenings.