Maples’ youngsters learn about basketball

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This article was published 14/01/2014 (4451 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Every Wednesday a group of eight-year-old kids meet together at the Maples Community Centre to shoot hoops. They are taught the proper fundamentals of basketball and a sense of how community works. These young ballers are able to keep active by running around, bouncing a ball and having fun.

As little kids who are relatively new to the game of basketball, they are taught the basics of the sport. They work on their dribbling, shooting, passing and defense. They go through different drills to develop their skills. But as young children they sometimes get carried away in doing their own thing.

And that’s where Coach Tom steps in. He makes sure that the kids perform each drill, as precisely as possible, without compromising the level of fun. After all, the primary objective of kids playing sports is to have fun.

Coach Tom allows the kids to scrimmage before the end of practice, so they can implement the skills that they learned from the drills in a game situation.

On Saturdays, this young team goes head-to-head with other teams from all over the city. This is not only an opportunity for the children to test their skills, but to also meet other players from different parts of the city. They play the game without keeping score so the kids can focus on having fun instead of winning and competition.

“Most of the kids today are so caught up in staying at home and playing video games, but participating in sports allow them to go out and interact with other children while keeping active,” Coach Tom says.

It gives them the chance to learn the value of exercise and establish a good set of fundamentals at such a young age.

With learning basketball comes the essence of teamwork and camaraderie. Both are given emphasis by Coach Tom. The kids are always instructed to pass the ball around and get everyone involved in the play. They are taught to work together and have fun as a team, which is true not only in the game of basketball but in the community as well.

Daniel Basanes is a community correspondent for The Maples.