Young basketball prospects get a feel of the game |14 December 2017

Young basketball prospects on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue have been and will continue to benefit from basic training in the coming weeks.

Organised by the National Sports Council, the training sessions started on Monday this week at the Anse Boileau court.

Paul Denis, a highly respected basketball coach who has been coaching for many years, is the man who has been given the task to educate the kids on how the game is really played. As the kids only range between the ages of 12-14, the coach believes that this is the right age to start educating them on the game, and start from zero and lead them to their full potential.

“I believe that the training will benefit the kids tremendously, as it will give them the right mindset on how the game is played. All children have to start somewhere, whether they know how the game is played or not. This training will help them develop their skills, help them interact with one another and keep them busy during the holiday,” said coach Denis who was part of the coaching team when the Seychelles men’s team won the gold medal at the Indian Ocean Island (IOIG) in Seychelles in 2011 and when they captured the silver in 1993 also on home soil.

The first training session, which was done at Anse Boileau, saw a great turnout of around 35 kids who had the interest of learning the game of basketball. The next training was done at English River (Central region 1) and it started yesterday and is due to continue today.

Coach Denis also told Sports NATION that the Seychelles under-18 team who are due to take part in the African Championship next year, appeared in their first friendly match on Tuesday evening at the Palais des Sports.

Having all these kids learn techniques and also a sense of manners, is a big key for coach Denis.

The training will advance to Mont Fleuri court (Central region 2) and the northern region at the Bel Ombre court on December 18-19, then the eastern region at the Roche Caïman court and southern region at the Anse Royale court on December 20-21. 

The National Sports Council would like to advise the public that such an activity has been put in place to try and keep the kids occupied and also develop their skills.

Coach Denis during yesterday’s training session with the kids

Rodney Rose