FORMER national player and basketball coach, Abdulla Hamid of the Joy / Hamid Basketball Foundation and Dennis Niles (Jr.) or the KidRock Basketball Foundation, will continue their pursuit to reach the very young basketball players who attended recent summer camps in Linden, during this new school term.

Veteran basketball coach Hamid, who was in charge of the Joy / Hamid Summer camp in July, has reportedly spoken to Department of Education officials in Region 10 (Upper Demerara/ Upper Berbice) and will visit various primary schools in the coming week starting next Monday to establish a programme which will target pupils at that level so that when they reach the secondary school they are aware of what the game of basketball is.

He did tell those who attended his programme that it will be a continuous schedule for the promotion of basketball among the youths.
And Niles (Jr.) of the Kidrock Basketball Foundation has already started his follow-up sessions for school-aged children from 5 to 18 at the Amelia’s Ward Basketball Court with sessions from 8:00 hours to 11:00 hours on Saturdays.
Towards the end of August there were three more successful summer basketball clinics, conducted by the Victory Valley Royals Basketball Club, Live Up Basketball and KidRock Basketball Foundations in the mining town of Linden, following the first for the holidays which was staged by the Joy/ Hamid Foundation Clinic which ended in July.

The Victory Valley Royals Club summer clinic which had 43 kids attend inclusive of 10 females, came to an end at the Silvercity Hard Court in Wismar, where for one week clinic sessions were conducted by coaches Chris Pollydore, Orlando Glasgow, Yannick Tappin and Harold Adams which was supported by the Youth Basketball Guyana’s Chris Bowman, Nyron and Singh’s Gas Station.
Prior to that, the second annual Live Up Basketball Foundation’s one month clinic basketball clinic was concluded at the Block 22 court in Wismar, where certificates were handed over to the kids who attended.

Coach Patrick Clarke said the clinic got started on July 24 and ended on August 23 with boys and girls ages 9 to 14, attending the sessions which were from 7:30 hours to 11:00 hours Mondays to Fridays.
He said residents of the Bock 22 community and former basketball players now residing in the United States provided funding for his clinic which was staged after the first year last year.

The KidRock Basketball Foundation’s clinic came to an end at the Amelia’s Ward Basketball Court where over the one week training period, some 70 boys and girls were taught the fundamentals of basketball.
That clinic also in its second year was organised by the KidRock Basketball Foundation where coaches Dennis Niles (Jr.) and Kevin Joseph were in charge.

At the conclusion Niles told the gathering at the venue “I want to thank all the parents for allowing their kids to be part of the KIDROCK Basketball Foundation 2023 summer camp basketball programme.”
Looking back at the sessions Niles added “Our main focus was teaching the kids basketball is more than just playing with the ball on the court, it has morals that govern the sports such as discipline, humility, dedication and commitment. We strive to help the kids to be who they are because a lot of us are so fluent and active than when we are off the court.

So a lot of kids find who they are on the court so we try to make them comfortable throughout the camp to execute the drills and most of them were executing the drills, but when they come off the court they are entirely different and that is what basketball does. When you are with your peers you tend to see who you really are so we allow them to find themselves while teaching them and developing them through the game.”

There were skills challenges and shooting competitions at the closing ceremony where the winners won basketballs, backpacks and other prizes.
“We say thanks to ExxonMobil for supporting us, Semple and Sons Hardware Store and other private businesses in the community who helped in the provision of water and beverage for the kids who attended the camp.” said coach Niles.