Basketball |12 September 2023

Plaisance secondary girls’ and boys’ basketball teams (Photo: Neil Sirame)

Plaisance secondary school hosts basketball training camp

Aiming to further develop the basketball skills of students and also to increase appreciation for the sport, the Plaisance secondary school has organised a training camp for the boys’ and girls’ selections.

The activity, which is taking place at the Victoria Gymnasium, began yesterday and will go on till September 15.

The training camp is being run by Fédération Internationale de Basketball (Fiba) technical delegate from Jordan, Fadi Sabbah, and Maya Al-Souss, a professional basketball player from Syria.

It was officially launched yesterday morning in the presence of head teacher of Plaisance secondary School Jenny Kilindo, Les Mamelles district administrator Claudette Louise and physical education (PE) teacher from the Plaisance secondary school Jerry Andrew.

Mr Andrew said based on his good networking with international coaches, he reached out to them with the initiative, adding that it is the second time that the school’s basketball teams are benefitting from the expertise of an international instructor.

He said the move has been possible through his affiliation with the United Nations of Basketball (UNB), a group launched in 2020 with the aim of developing the world's future basketball stars while encouraging peace by bringing people and nations together through basketball.

“Being part of that organisation allows the exchange between different coaches around the globe and their presence here will not only benefit the Plaisance secondary school, but the whole country, as I planned the initiative for Seychelles’ basketball in general,” said Mr Andrew.

He noted that he noticed there is a great number of students from the school who are interested in the sport of basketball.

“We have a lot of children who love the sport, including girls also, and we also have around 40 children who are practicing basketball,” said Mr Andrew, who added that Mr Sabbah will be also assessing his performance, based on what he has taught the children.

“From the sessions with the kids, he will be evaluating me also and will provide a feedback on what I did well and what to improve on as he will be monitoring me in this training camp,” said Mr Andrew.

He further noted that the school has close ties with second divisioners PLS Suns who use the school as a feeder, where the youngsters are prepared.

Ms Kilindo commended Mr Andrew for the initiative which began since they re-activated their basketball team following the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Since Mr Andrew came up with the idea to bring an international instructor to share expertise with the two basketball teams, we have seen a significant rise in interest from the students,” said Ms Kilindo.

She explained that this week is the best time to organise the training camp, since during the first week of a new term, students usually do not learn new topics but takes the time to recap on last term’s topics and exercises.

On his part, Mr Sabbah said this initiative is part of a new programme called ‘For the love of basketball’ which connects coaches and players from different countries with the aim to develop the game by introducing new drills and skills for young players.

 “We are very happy to do this with Mr Andrew and the Plaisance secondary school and hopefully in the future we can have a bigger exchange programme where we can take a team from the Seychelles to Jordan to do some matches, and vice-versa,” said Mr Sabbah.

He added that he has seen a lot of passion and interest from the young players, and they are getting a lot of support from the school.

He further noted that he is very happy to be here and hopefully his contribution will help these young players to develop, helping Seychelles to have a strong team in the future.

As for Maya Al-Souss, who plays as point guard in Al-Ahli in Syria, she said the young players have potential and she will be sharing her knowledge and experience with them, adding that she hopes the kids grasp the teachings and develop to be better. 

Neil Sirame