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Online coaching clinics planned for Championships by the Kerala Basketball Association gain popularity.

The Kerala Basketball Association (KBA) recently conducted online clinics for coaches on decision making, strategy, and sports injuries. The association is thankful to Mr. Marc Pulles, Director, India Operations, NBA, and Mr. Bryan Gamroth, Manager, India Operations, NBA, who conducted the Train the Trainers Clinic, and to Dr. Shibu Varghese, Orthopaedic Sports Surgeon and IPL Medical Officer, who shared his expertise on sports injuries.

The participants for the Zoom conference were registered in advance by the KBA. Marc and Bryan spoke from the comfort of their homes in Spain and the US, respectively. They discussed development plans for players, decision making on the court, offensive philosophy, strategic preparation and the importance of scouting.

The participating coaches were welcomed and felicitated by KBA President V.C. Hashim. P.J. Sunny, former Basketball Federation of India (BFI) Selection Committee Chairman and lifetime President of KBA, Dr. M.M. Chacko, former Vice President of BFI, Manohara Kumar, former President, KBA, and Saseedharan Nair, KBA Technical Committee Chairman, were also virtually present.

Clinic 1: Mr. Marc Pulles, decision making

Marc said that making the right decision on the court is one of the most important aspects of the game. He spoke about teaching players how to read opponents and situations and make the right movement at the right time. Integrating a focus on decision making into the training of young players can help them improve their reaction time and Basketball IQ, said Marc, adding that it helps them adapt to the nature of the game. In a game, the players need to be able to think on their feet, and, therefore, coaches must present them with problems and allow them to find the solutions, he said. Mr. Marc illustrated his points with presentations and videos. He stressed on Perception-Decision-Execution; "We are only able to see what we understand." According to him, game-like situations in training are crucial for success in games and adding decision making drills can make a real difference to a player's performance.

Some of the drills he spoke about are:

1) Basic skill dribbling

2) Basic drill passing

3) Drive and kick drill

4) Collective tactics 2 on 1

5) Complex offensive 4 v 3 no movement drill and

6) Complex offensive 4 v 3 + 1 (transition drill) + 1

Clinic 2: Mr. Bryan Gamroth, game strategy, preparation and scouting??????? 

Bryan joined the Basketball Operations staff of NBA India last year after working in the coaching and sports management industry for 10 years. Bryan worked with the NBA, running its grassroots programs in China and India.

In his session, Bryan emphasized on how scouting your opponent gives your team an advantage and can lead to wins. He discussed practice and preparation in detail and spoke about how coaches should handle timeouts. He concluded with postgame analysis, reminding the coaches about how a full analysis of the game can be a good learning curve for the next practice session.

Clinic 3: Dr. Shibu Varghese, sports injuries

The webinar, conducted by Dr. Shibu Varghese in collaboration with FASCIA India, which has immense expertise in the field of sports medicine, focused on sports medicine with special emphasis on Basketball-related injuries. It was specifically designed to target the needs of our coaches as well as elite players. It was devised on a phased module of three levels. The first session, the level 1 course, was delivered on October 6, 2020. The remaining two modules will be conducted in the coming days.