The skills you learn on the basketball court can last a lifetime.
That was the encouragement given by associate manager of basketball operations of the NBA, Adrian Alvarez, during the Digicel NBA Jump Start Camp at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium on National Heroes Day.
“We can share something more than basketball; we can share values of the game. It is perfect that you are having fun and enjoying it but there are things that you can take with you; values, respect, and teamwork. Basketball is great but if you can take those values off the court and take it with you that will be true success,” he said.
Chief executive officer of Digicel Barbados Alex Tasker said it was the fourth staging of the programme that would allow young players to better their game.
“It is an effort to continue the leverage of sporting opportunities which contribute to developing young sporting talent in Barbados and across the region,” he said.
He added that this year’s numbers have shown an increase in participation with more young players having an opportunity to learn from NBA professionals.
“Emerging out of this weekend’s activities seven of you will be chosen to attend a Digicel NBA Elite camp in Trinidad and Tobago, thereafter, you may even be chosen to attend the NBA experience in the USA sometime this year.
“I want to encourage you to put your best foot forward and perform to the best of your ability. Not only will we be performing training for young participants, we also saw the need to have a special training session for the coaches that we can continue to build upon the foundation that we will lay over the next two days”.
Orlando Magic coach Jay Hernandez, over the two-day programme, encouraged players to work hard and embrace the experiences they gained, since basketball has allowed him the opportunity to travel across the world and meet a number of great people, forming long-lasting relationships.
“We are also going to give you a lot of skills and drills you can take with you to improve.
“The work you do carries over to everything else you do in life. We are going to challenge you, you will make mistakes and we want you to learn from this mistakes and continue to get better,” he said.
Lead coach Zahir Motara thanked Digicel and NBA for staging the Jump sStart programme and the support of youth. (RG)
