Team Ghana will be leaving town today for Maputo, Mozambique to participate in the 18th edition of the AfroBasket U18 tournament. The competition has served as the stage on which many young African players, notably Hakeem Olajuwon and recently Serge Ibaka caught the attention of the world. As much as it's a youth event, the competition level is not for the faint-hearted and ill-prepared.
Considering the chronicles that have unfolded within these past few weeks of preparation for our team, Ghana could easily be classified into the ill-prepared category. The technical director himself has said on occasion that it would be unrealistic to talk about or expect any great outcome from this trip.
However, we need to be there; for the learning experience. A statement not many people will agree with but we still need to be there for that exact reason. We may talk of competing several times in zone three and having a GBBA technical director who has had quite an experience working with FIBA Africa as a game official during continental events. Talk could also be made of the national seniors women's trip to Mali for the AfroBasket women's championship in December 2011.Their performance there is certainly not something we would like this young team to replicate. But with all these, we've never had a men's team compete at the African level and nothing beats the experience of being there.
Whether or no this team ends up on the podium, Ghana should be a better basketball country after this trip. The national association should be a better organized institution after this by all means necessary otherwise we would have only done ourselves, fans and sponsors a disservice. Nothing will be more painful than tasting continental competition for once and knowing how exciting it can get and the benefits it can reap for young people then slamming back into our old ways and into another long down time.
It lies on all of us and most importantly the GBBA staff that will travel along this team to learn and be ready to implement what we learn. It's never an easy task; but it lies on us!
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You may or may not have watched Tyler Perry's 'Meet the Browns'. There's a lot to the movie, but I'll like to focus on Brenda. Brenda was a mum in Chicago with a son and two daughters. She loses her job and had a very unsupportive ex-husband who cared less about the kids' upbringing. Her only son(Michael), her eldest child has a best friend who has taken to to drug dealership to survive in their tough black neighborhood. She didn't approve of this friend and advised her son to stay off him. This son plays basketball too and is good at it, with possibilities of making it pro if he works a bit more on his game. Later on after one of Michael's games they're approached by Harry, a basketball recruiter who invites Micheal to try out for professional basketball, but Brenda being protective tells him that school comes first and he needs to pay more attention to that.
Brenda gets news of her dead dad in Atlanta and takes her kids along to the funeral. Brenda has a tough time fitting in with the Brown family and one day finds Michael and Harry outside shooting hoops and chatting outside the family house. Brenda finds out she was born as a result of her father pimping around while he was in Chicago. She's also informed he left her a shady, ruined house. Unwilling to accept
it, she moves back to Chicago with her family. Upon
returning to Chicago, Brenda continues to look for a job while she and
Harry started dating.
Brenda's ex-hubby shows up with offer of giving her money if she gives him sex. Michael walks in on them and hears a lot of secrets while they argued. He lives and goes to hang with his drug dealer friend and also started selling drugs. Michael ends up shot in the back and collapsed onto the sidewalk in a fight between drug gangs.
Brenda hears the news while she and Harry are out on a date, and she
goes to visit Michael in the hospital. Michael's doctor tells Brenda
that he will be fine and he was lucky because the bullet passed his
internal organs.
After Michael's recovery, Harry helps him to improve his basketball
skills. After they leave their past behind them, Harry takes them back
to Georgia. Later that same day, Brenda eavesdrops on one of her sisters telling the other in the
kitchen that Michael is a "goldmine" to Harry so he can pay
off his gambling debts. Brenda and Harry later argue and break up, but
another basketball recruiter tells her that Harry's debts are paid. She
realizes she lost a good man. After a basketball press conference,
Michael and Brenda drive to the basketball gym where Harry is practicing
so she can apologize to him. Harry reveals the main reason why he
helped out her and Michael all this time was because he loved her.
Brenda confesses that she loves him too but she is afraid to accept him
because he was too perfect for her. Harry asks her to let him be that
perfect man for her. The film ends with the two getting married with the
Browns at their wedding.
What's the moral of this story?
We shouldn't be buried in hurt and blinded by our pain to the point that we think everybody around us or anything that happens around us is just to cause us more pain or bring more sorrow to us.
How can we apply it to Ghana Basketball?
So many things have gone wrong in the past. So many wrong things are still going on and the future seems somewhat bleak(depending on how you look at it). But we need to be careful; very careful! So as not to only keep on criticizing everything the national association or any other association tries to do. Let's keep balanced views on issues, be real and support growth in our own small ways. We never know when something really good will come our way, if care is not taken we'll be blinded and not even realize the time when something good begins to happen. We must be careful; a lot of care must be taken!!!
Mini Q & A with Referee Gasu
Gh basketball could use a couple more people like this man...trust me!
RGH followed up on the wall post he dropped our facebook page. It read like "Why is everybody shying away from basketball officiating? The Referees' Association badly needs a fresh injection of personnel and commitment!" and drew a couple of interesting suggestions.
This sounded like an urgent call for help from the man who's also the secretary of the referees' association.
So I called up Gasu to further explain what exactly he meant in the post(yea, I know it was as simple as it could be, but who knows, he might have meant more).
He started by describing how he himself got into officiating. "Certain things should have been institutionalized long ago, but as you know, our system is not the best and many of those things do not happen. So for some us when we wanted to be referees, we were taken through training by Mr. Iddrisu Gamel before we were made to start officiating. Along the way through our own initiative and interest in acquisition of more knowledge about the game we regularly read material from the internet and other sources."
When asked if he made the statement because of any impending referee course, he responded by saying that it was a personal initiative; which he knows his chairman will applaud. He went on to say that any interested person should apply to the referees association and he will personally aid the person through all processes that are required to make one a part of them. "We need new guys to inject some sought of competition among the refs, so that it becomes like it's done in soccer and other sports, if you do not perform well as a referee, you are not given any games to officiate. There's a lot of complacency among the refs because they realize there are no other options but them".
If interested why don't you pick a phone and call referee Gasu on 024 3835148 or find him on facebook as http://www.facebook.com/#!/bquarmyne or follow the refs on http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Basketball-Referees-Ghana/215237911848598
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?
Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra - After a hectic 8 days of lectures and practical sessions, the FIBA module one coaching course was finally climaxed with a ceremony at the media center of the Ohene Djan stadium.
The event was graced by a couple of top shots in the Ghanaian sports and basketball fraternity most prominent being the C.E.O of the National Sports Council who spoke on behalf of the ministry of youth and sports.
Mr. Keita wearing the smock and sash presented to him
The day was filled with joy and many memories that will forever ring bells in the minds of all that partook in the course. From the awarding of certificates to the participants to the presentation of gifts to Mr. Keita Kabassan. From all indications Mr. Keita was very much over whelmed as he experienced the proverbial Ghanaian hospitality at its best through the numerous gifts he received as appreciation from participants, the sports council, the GBBA, the GABBA and some other individuals. He eventually had to call on his Ghanaian counterpart to help him say thank you to all present for being so kind to him during his stay here in Ghana.
Coaching Diaries
Day 7
This was supposed to be the final and fun day of the course. Participants had been grouped into four teams to play a mini tourney to mark the end of the course.
Even before the arrival of most participants, the younger guys had already started to take it out on each other in a 3 on 3 game on the unoccupied side of the court.
Class started on schedule and as planned, the first thing done was a review of the last groups performance with the kids. They got some good comments proving that they had learnt from all the other groups that had come before them.
Class then went on. Mr.Keita took the class through the FIBA mini basketball rules. This took about forty minutes. The instructor emphasized very much on the fact that mini basketball referees, should be more like teachers/parents on the court. They should also smile and keep the kids in an excited mood to still want to play the game.
Now to the real deal. Four teams, all play all. The games were exciting but still came with all the mouth work that goes with playground basketball. Most f the older guys proved that they still got game, getting some ooh-moments in the games. But then at the end of the day the winner didn't matter as the main aim for the day was to have fun.
Coaching Course Diaries
Day 6
Number of participants have increased up to about 24 by now. Class started on schedule with Coach Lawal taking the class through a lecture on defense. In his introduction he mentioned several importance of defense and at a point made reference to George Raveling's book, "War On The Boards" to back his argument on the importance of rebounding. This lasted for about 40 minutes. Mr. Keita occasionally chipped in some vital points along the way. Both instructors emphasized a lot on the importance of defense in the game and also for coaches to try to instill defense into kids at a young age.
"If you don't have good foot work you can't defend well" , Coach Lawal stated during his presentation. He went further to talk about various positions players should take when face with 2 on 1, 2 on 2 and 3 on 3 situations and also mentioned that kids should be thought good man defense since zone defense is not allowed in mini basketball. Mr. Keita then emphasized on not overloading kids by teaching them sagging defense, switching and rotation as it will rather cause more confusion on the court.
The class then went on a 20 minute break.
Class resumed and then Mr. Keita spent some time to teach the class about defensive transition. He spent the entire time on the court showing the various positions defensive players need to take went confronted by different kinds of offenses. The class went through 2 on 1 and 3 on 2. He also talked about how to retreat back quickly to defense after scoring to reduce fast break points, something he has realized most African countries don't do well at.
The kids from the Galaxy Basketball Academy then arrived for the day's practical session. Two groups took turns to take them through their training programs. The first was a group headed by Rubberman and included Salamatu Alhassan, a member of the national women's team coaching staff. The class regrouped as usual and comments and contributions were made on the group's performance. The next group, which was the last group also took time with the kids. This was a group which featured Winifred Tetteh as head coach. The class was adjourned after their session since was already past 6pm and class had to be closed. The discussion on their performance will be held on day 7.
Mr. Amenyo reading the report on behalf of the GABBA.
Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra - The Regional Sports Development Office(RSDO), yesterday held a meeting to access all 30 registered sports associations in the region. The various associations took turns to read out their reports to the gathering which was chaired by the C.E.O of the National Sports Council, Mr. Walonyo Agrah. The GABBA association was represented by Mr. Baafi (Chairman) and Mr. Amenyo (Vice Chairman).
This was done to collate information of how various associations did during the past six months. Heads of associations read out their achievements, failures and challenges.
Mr. Agrah pointed out in his address that the various associations should try to get marketing wings to hep them seek the aid/sponsorships of corporate bodies for their various programs,competitions and leagues. He also urged the leaders to deviate from the "normal " way of doing things and be more creative in the way they run their various associations.
Mr. Amenyo then took the floor and read out the report for the GABBA. some of the achievements mentioned were the successful completion of this year's league, the success of the Thome Cablan tourney and also international friendlies in Togo by Hoops and Tema Youth. He was then made to cut his report short and submit the written report to the RSDO due to time constraints since other associations had to also do their presentations.
Coaching Course Diaries
Day 5
Day 5 was a special day, the first part of which was used to hold the official opening ceremony for the course. This was due to the absence of some of the GBBA and GABBA executives who spent the weekend in Abidjan with the female national team.
Present were Mr. Agrah(the C.E.O of the N.S.C) who left the RSDO meeting to participate in the ceremony on a very short notice, Mr. Sarpei (secretary-genaral for the GBBA to the NSC) was the MC for the appreciably short occasion having already sat through a longer one earlier, I was quite pleased and several members of the Ghana basketball family.
Vice president of the GBBA, Iddrisu Gamel mentioned a shortspeech his appreciation to the sports council for helping the GBBA pay its affiliation fees to FIBA, a debt that was long standing until the arrival of Mr. Agrah as C.E.O.
Mr.Keita Kabassan, then took the floor and delivered a speech on behalf of the president of FIBA-Afriqe, Mr. Jose Luis Saez. He mentioned among a few things that, the African basketball governing body seek to help Ghana to develop and train coaches in the next 3-4 years. He told coaches taking the course also that, he is not here to impose any specific methods onto them but serve as a guide for them to be better coaches. He ended by saying coaches should always remember; "they're the bosses on the court".
Mr. Agrah took his trun to address the gathering. He started by thanking the LSC for giving the out their facility to be used for the course and entailed participants to to take full advantage of the course and learn the most from Mr. Keita.
A presentation of 100 rubber basketballs, 15 leather basketballs and copies of the book "basketball for young players" was made to the GBBA by Mr.Keita on behalf of FIBA-Afrique.
Mr. Keita presenting balls and books to Mr. Agrah
The media and quests took leave of us and class resumed after about 5 minutes break.
The instructor took the class through chapter 2 of the course book, which was on the planning of basketball activities. He talked extensively on the subject for about 30 minutes and involved the class in discussions as usual. The class went on a break as we waited for the kids to come in for the day's practical session.
evaluation time
Kids arrived and another group of participants took their turn at the practical session. The whole class sat together again to evaluate their colleagues performance. The class spent some 12 minutes talking after which Mr. Keita moved to the next topic which was how to introduce kids to 1 on 1 offense. After a few minutes he asked for some members of the class to volunteer and try out a practical session with the kids. The group 3 (Meme, Isaac and Feranmi) took the kids through some basics needed to be able to play 1 on 1 ball.The group led by Isaac, took the kids through moving and stopping without the ball, pivoting, keeping eyes on the target, ball faking and dribbling, topping and pivoting with the ball while keeping eyes on the hoop.
