YESTERDAY, the National Sports Commission (NSC) partnered with the Guyana Basketball Federation (GBF) to launch a two-day coaching programme for teachers at the National Racquet Centre on Woolford Avenue.

Led by National Coach, Julian Haynes, the training will cover coaching philosophy, rules, basic court markings, footwork and body movement, and other technical aspects of athletes development. The second and final day of the training, which will focus on practical sessions, will take place today at the Burnham Basketball Court.

Melissa Dow-Richardson, Assistant Director of Sport, praised the initiative and noted that it aligns with the goal of developing talent in the 12 core sports in Guyana namely Badminton, Basketball, Cricket, Football, Hockey, Rugby, Squash, Swimming, Tennis, Table Tennis, Track and Field, and Volleyball.

Dow-Richardson noted that this training will without a doubt result in the emergence of more school teams which will feed into the club system and the national academy.

The former player also posited that this collaboration between the Ministry of Sport, Ministry of Education and the GBF demonstrates that the stakeholders are committed to the development of the game. And, recent major budget allocation for sports indicates that the government is serious about taking sports locally to the next level.

Rawle Toney, Vice-President of the GBF, expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport for their support of the programme and commended Haynes for his efforts. However, the journalist by profession, noted his disappointment in the absence of some of the more seasoned coaches.