Serbian coach Nikola Maslarevic joins Bel Air Academy |16 January 2018

In its effort to continue to raise the level of basketball in Seychelles, the Bel Air Basketball Academy has recruited the 

services of a high profile basketball coach, Serbian Nikola Maslarevic.

Happy to be in Seychelles, coach Maslarevic said he aims to give his best shot and hopefully get good results with the academy.
The academy will this year also launch its first basketball team who will play in the second division.
The 28-year-old internationally certified Fédération Internationale de Basketball Association (Fiba) coach, who is well versed in youth basketball development in his country, replaces two other Serbian coaches, brothers Filip Golobovic and Andrija Golobovic, who both have worked with the academy for some time and are now working for the Seychelles National Sports Council (NSC).  

Maslarevic,  who is on a two-year contract, was presented as the new coach of the Bel Air Basketball Academy (Baba) in a small reception held at the Bel Air community centre on Wednesday afternoon, by Baba president Jeffery Payet, in the presence of former tourism minister Alain St Ange, the elected member of the National Assembly for Bel Air Norbert Loizeau, Bel Air district administrator Alexandrine Zelia, Filip and Andrija Golobovic from the National Sports Council, representatives of sponsors, Baya players, Baba committee members, parents and the young players of the academy.

The young coach is also well known in the coaching field in Europe.
According to Mr Payet, since its existence, the academy has formed many young players of which some has featured in the male pre-selection of under-18 national basketball team.

“I am very satisfied up to now with what we have achieved from the academy and in line with the success, we are planning to launch an academy for the girls in the near future,” added Mr Payet.  

The Bel Air Basketball Academy was launched in May 2016 with the aim of giving aspiring young basketball players between the ages of 10 to 18 years old, enrolled with the academy, the right formation to understand the basic element of basketball, in a professional and disciplined way and at the same time, to get them to love the sport.  With the aim of attracting young male basketball players from the Bel Air district including some from outside the zone, the academy is also playing its part in helping the communities in eradicating anti-social behaviour among the youths thus preventing them from falling prey to drugs and alcohol among others.

“As of this year, we will bring down the entry age limit to 10 years so as to get the kids to be interested in playing basketball from a very young age. We want to bring basketball in Seychelles to a very high level so that one day we could have more than just one professional basketball player coming from Seychelles. This year, we will also be launching our first basketball team who will play in the second league,” said Mr Payet.

He added that players who do not make it as basketball players, are diverted to other areas such as being trained as referees or table officials.
“We want to keep our young trained players together for as long as possible so as not to let them go out and indulge in negative influences,” he added.

Employed full time with Baba, Serbian coach Maslarevic will be working closely with the academy’s technical director, renowned local Seychelles basketball coach Paul Denis and the academy’s other local coach, Grégoire Scholastique.

All young basketball players from the Bel Air district and those from other regions who would like to join the academy are requested to come to the training court at Bel Air today to be enrolled. Training normally happens on Saturdays from 8.30am to 12 noon and on Wednesdays from 4pm to 6pm.

“Coach Maslarevic has already said he will increase the training days and he will also be available during the day for group or individual training,” noted Mr Payet who is expecting a high increase in the number of talented young basketball players coming from the academy.

Mr Payet added that the academy has chosen to work with top Serbian basketball coaches as Serbia is very reputed in basketball worldwide with the country being ranked second in Europe behind Spain and third in the world behind the United States and Spain.

The president of the academy is calling on sponsors or anybody who wants to support the academy in helping the youths to move forward to contact him on email: Jeffery@seychelles.sc or on telephone number 2510992.  

P. J.