Youth basketball on front burner for 2023
Published:Monday | January 2, 2023 | 1:04 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter -
FOUNDER of Elite 1 Caribbean Basketball Summer League (E1CBL), Ludlow Barker, and Phase 1 Academy will be hosting a basketball clinic for the nation’s top high-school basketballers this month. Tryouts are scheduled for January 14, to be followed by an all-star game on January 29 at the National Arena.
Barker said he was moved to host the clinic as following the conclusion of the local high-school league the players are often inactive, which then leads to pressure on the national coaches to get them ready for crucial tournaments.
“When the school league ends there is normally no basketball. There is, therefore, no consistent programme for their age group,” Barker said.
He added that there is a Caribbean tournament which usually acts as a qualifier for teams wishing to get to the Olympics and further, but the preparation time ahead of these qualifiers is usually very short and the teams suffer because of the lack of preparation.
A good kick-start programme
Back in November 2022, the Montego Bay Conventional Centre hosted the inaugural high-school 3x3 competition, where coach Barker won with Calabar High. He says that was a good kick-start programme; but this move comes at the perfect time, especially for the female programme.
“They will now be much sharper and more consistent because out of all of this, the girls will continue to have a clinic, once every month, to keep them sharp and committed to the sport of basketball,” he added.
Coach Barker also revealed that overseas players will be involved in the high-school programme, to boost the competitiveness and to help in the development of local talent.
“What we are also trying to do is to have the players who are coming here to become part of this training and to mentor the kids, encourage them, and get them to understand what it’s going to take to get them to move in a professional manner in basketball.
“If we can have them playing and training while improving their skills, we will see the mindset change, and then we will see even more of our players breaking out on the international scene, colleges and otherwise,” Barker said.