Mark These Dates!

10:10 PM Ellis 6 Comments

Editor's picks for the year.Rivalries are like the air that sports survive on.

Finally the Accra league's schedule has been released by the GABBA. In any league they are always games fans look forward to, no matter how many times they occur in a lifetime. As much as fans of the NBA, including myself will like to watch other teams succeed, we continually yearn for a Celtics-Lakers final. And if you have been a fan of the Accra L, there are games you certainly wouldn't want to miss especially this year when it promises to be more exciting because of the divisions introduced.

The introduction of the divisions have certainly taken away some matches fans would have wished for. Who wouldn't want to see how CEPS pays TY back for what they did to them in the 2010 Thome Cabalan finals.

CEPS vs Warriors. March 9,4pm, Lebanon Hse.
No one should miss the first game of the season. This match up didn't leave up to expectation last season because the Warriors team was in a little bit of a mess getting to the end of the season due to the breaks. So we should get ready for a more interesting game on opening day!

Hoops vs Police. March 12, 4pm, Lebanon Hse.
Hoops won this match up last year with 2 points, look out for Police to come all out for their revenge.

Holy family vs Magic. March 12, 5pm, Lebanon Hse.
one point game in favor of Magic last season. A revamped Holy Family wouldn't take t likely against their Tudu based foes this time.

Kingdom Hoops vs Turbo Jets. March 18, 3pm, Prisons' court.
For sure this match is not here because of the jets, it made here because it marks the debut of the other "Hoops" team. let's see what they bring. Welcome Kingdom Hoops!

CEPS vs Police. March 18, 4pm, Prisons' court.
The two top security teams' battle for supremacy.

Fire vs Magic. March 19, 4pm, Lebanon Hse.
With both teams having Tudu backgrounds, an exciting game is assured.

Hoops vs Holy Family. March 19, 5pm, Lebanon Hse.
Pappoe, Djimate and co revenge their loss against Hoops with a new look HF dominated with Yotive expatriates.

Reformers vs Police. March 23, 4pm, Prisons' court.
With all the support on their side, we'll see if Reformers will be able to hand Police two losses in a row.

C.Y.O vs Tema Youth. April 1, 3pm, Lebanon Hse.
Hmm! You certainly don't expect C.Y.O to upset TY again, such feats don't happen in sports with this much frequency.

Warriors vs Hoops. April 2, 4pm, Prisons' court.
Arguably the best match of the 201 GABL. Ended 91-90 for Hoops. No matter who wins, get prepared for a thriller.

CEPS vs Magic. April 6, 4pm, Prisons' court.
Yes, this match made to the list. A match expected to be boring and look like a fixed one. Don't ask me why. find out!

Hoops vs Magic. April 16, 4pm, Prisons' court.
Coach C of Hoops regularly airs his dislike of this Magic team. he claims they should be way better. "They should be shooting lights outs, it's the same court they train on. Yet they never live to expectation".

CEPS vs Hoops. April 20, 4pm, Lebanon Hse.
EPIC ENCOUNTER!. Part 2. Please do not miss!.

Fire vs Magic, April 22, 4pm, Prisons' court.
Both teams have Tudu backgrounds, a possible in-house battle is expected.

Police vs Warriors. April 23, 5pm, Lebanon Hse.
Police will have definitely win this one. Warriors won the match up last season with some 9 points.

Tema Youth vs Panthers. April 27, 3pm, Lebanon Hse.
Accra East warfare. Even though TY are favourites, it will be interesting to see what those OKC-like Panthers have under their sleeves.

6 comments:

GABL 2011 FIXTURES

4:12 PM Ellis 2 Comments

2 comments:

Not forgetting our Coaches: Part 1

1:02 PM Ellis 4 Comments

Not forgetting our Coaches
...are our coaches up to the task?

A team without a coach is like sheep without a shepherd, even though they might survive, that's all they will ever be; survivors! It is always difficult for the team to achieve any feats, not even mentioning extraordinary ones without a father figure (ask the Sacksville Panthers).

You can agree with me that enough has been said of our referees. Now to the big question, are our coaches who complain of bad officiating good in their own field? There are a couple of questions that could be asked to help get to the answer of the first one. What are the roles of our coaches? how can one be said to be a good coach? what can the national / regional associations do to make our coaches the good coaches they need to be to help with the development of the game.


Opinions vary a lot on this subject, so do the responsibilities of coaches, depending on what level they are coaching at. For example coach Lawal Brimah can't / shouldn't / doesn't coach the Galaxy Academy kids the same way he coaches his CEPS team or his Accra Polytechnic students.


Now to what makes one a great coach. In many coaching can be compared to parenting. Obviously, no two parents will have the exact same role and relationship with their own children. Some children are very independent at a young age, needing only space, respect, and support to blossom. Other children constantly need attention and extrinsic motivators to push themselves through the day. Some children may be given the best possible support and upbringing possible yet still turn into “failures” as deemed by society. The connection is striking and I believe it adds insight into how we should evaluate coaches. For example, when a child finds success in life, does well on a test, gets into their dream college, or even makes good friends – do we credit the parents or child?


Back to the court, so who's the best coach in Ghana? Will you go for Lawal Brimah because he's coached at the national level and his team has turned the Accra league into a practice facility? or you'll want to argue that he got some of the best players there are in the country and so winning became an easy task for him? Then don't forget our Cape Coast Hoops brothers, they perennially put up teams that suffer their only loss to CEPS, is because of coaching that they too beat everybody? Then lets take a little trip back to the coach = parent analogy, who's the better parent? Coach Lawal who's kids bring home all the awards at the speech day(trophies) or Coach Kweku Jackson who's Holy Family manages to get an honorable mention from the principal because the managed to make it to the next class (D1) with not so much talent?

In sports, sometimes the greatest coaching jobs are sometimes done by those in no position to win a title. Isn’t the role of a coach to be the leader and maximize the talent and potential of each member of a team? Coaches can’t suit up and play (unless you’re player-coach like Feranmi Olunlunyo) so I really think you need to look at far more than just their Win-Loss record. Obviously, the best coaches should be winning more than they are losing, but it is a fallacy to judge the strength of coaching based on the talent on the team.

No question – coaching is an art form on its own. It is the blending of numerous different factors (scouting, media, player relations,...) Are they important? Teams need a guiding force, both a leader in terms of X’s and O’s as well as an emotional backbone. On a global level, there will never be one way to coach, just as there is no one way to parent. I believe the best coaches are those who can take their own talents and abilities and mesh them to fit the needs of their players and the fan base.

...Do we have good coaches in Ghana?

4 comments:

Talk of Referees; chairman's remarks

10:03 AM Ellis 2 Comments

Just as expected, the issue of officiating came up again at the GABBA meeting held last Friday at Lebanon House. Some coaches and players as usual blamed officials for most of the mishaps on the courts.

GABBA chairman was of a different opinion.

He blamed the coaches, a side he seemed to be on alone. "The coaches need to be more professional in their activities and also make a conscious effort to educate their players about good behaviour during games rather than coming into games and starting arguments with referees" he said.

Mr.Baafi went on to remind the house that the Ghana basketball Association will soon hold a referees course for new referees to be trained and hold a refresher course for the existing ones.

When asked about the referees' course held at Burma Camp, he pointed out the fact that most of the guys went through the course to get the merit for promotions and not to really take up the task and provide their much needed service.

2 comments: