Wooden Roots

Basketball is a 'minority' sport in the UK. I'm not exactly sure how a sport is defined as 'minority' - perhaps from TV air time etc.

I started playing at 11 years old - via a Manchester Giants taster session. An empty Manchester Velodrome is an awesome sight (image below) - and playing basketball in the centre was enough to spark lifelong dedication. After recreationally playing at school and sixth form, I had to travel to Oldham to play competitively in the local league at the Oldham Ball Hall (at Kaskenmoor secondary school if memory serves).

As my school did not have a team for my year group I was offered a place on a Level 1 coaching course, after which I began coaching basketball to 9-12 year old children. Upon entering my undergraduate course at the University of Manchester I thought that a place on the BUCS [1] team awaited me.

Fortunately I wasn't good enough!

This event motivated me; and shortly after the Whitworth Park Basketball Team was created - kindly funded by WP residents association (WPRA). I coached WP for 4 years, and unfortunately the team dissolved a year after I left due to lack of financial backing. I took my levels 2 and 3 coaching, and levels 1 and 2 refereeing qualifications with the help of the WPRA and Manchester University Sports Volunteer Scheme.

A Strong Minority
Despite the label of 'minority', the basketball community is a strong one. Due to coaching and participating in Greater Manchester, I would often be accosted in the street by an apparently complete stranger with the greeting "Coach!" or "Haroon!". My automatic assumption in these cases was that the stranger recognised me from some Basketball event.

Every conversation followed the same path; "Where are you playing now?", "Have you got a new team?" etc. The thing I noted was a hierarchy of venues/leagues (the top of which is Whalley Grange's Amaechi Centre), that players steadily climbed and inevitably fell off. Very few make it to the top and stay there.

There exists an underground network of players, participants, coaches, referees etc, via which many 'ballers' in the UK organise 'pick up games' and other basketball events. All of these people are passionate about basketball, and without them we would be at a disadvantage.

Development
In order to raise the profile of basketball in the UK there are many areas that require improvement. Grass roots coaching is needed. I did not have a coach until the age of 16, at which time I had already developed bad habits. Participation must be increased - not just boys, but girls and mixed sessions must exist. Basketball is a brilliant sport for physical and psychological development - teamwork, discipline and fitness is required to succeed.

I recall attending one training session where the coach made us to tedious 'chair tests' and suicide runs for 2 hours. Needless to say that I never returned. Coaches with this philosophy need to be shot rethink their methods. If basketball is not fun, you are doing it wrong.

Thankfully there are many teams, clubs etc that make an effort in this area. Most professional or semi-professional teams run development programs that include coaching from grass roots all the way to the top. A well structured program is brilliant but still only available in certain areas.

I have never met a coach that would turn away a player. This gives me hope. I coach not just because I enjoy it (and very rarely get paid for it), but because I feel that it is my duty; my responsibility to increase participation and raise the profile of this great sport.

Thank you to those that make an effort; coaches, referees, players, participants, journalists, novices, SDOs [2] and professionals.

Thank you to all of those players that make coaching a joy.

My Coaching History - I have included many pictures so that as many team members as possible have been included.

2006: Primary school courses

2007/8: WPBT (see above) 1 team

2008/9: WPBT 1 team

2009/10: WPBT 1 team + Womens beginners course

2010/11: WPBT 2 teams + Womens beginners course

2011/12: University of Huddersfield Men (assistant) + WPBT 2 teams (partially)

2012/13: University of Huddersfield Men (assistant)
2013/14:  University of Huddersfield Women + Men's 1st & 2nd (assistant)

2014/15:  University of Huddersfield Women + Men's 1st & 2nd (assistant)

2015/16:  University of Huddersfield Women + Men's 1st & 2nd (assistant)

2016/17: University of Manchester

Conditioning Coach: Men's 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Women's 1st, Coach: Men's 4th, Senior Adviser to the committee

[1] British Universities and Colleges Sport
[2] Sports Development Officer

The sound of silence

For as long as I can remember a book was the prelude to sleep. When I started university this habit died out. Instead the habit became listening to audio-books.

I can no longer stand silence. Any situation that would usually be done in silence, e.g. washing dishes, becomes a brief expedition on the H. M. S. Surprise, or more recently, a discourse on tobacco in 221b Baker Street.

In the past few years dozens of novels have been conquered whilst walking from A to B. Many of these would normally seem too time-consuming or even tedious to be enjoyed.

It has been interesting for me to compare books with their motion picture counterparts. As far as I am aware no opera, movie or play can compete with the joys of a good book. This means that films such as Les Miserables or Life of Pi cannot be watched until the book has been completed. Usually this is a good thing as a knowledge of the book will fill in the gaps in a movie.

The key to a good audio-book is the narrator. My personal favourites include Patrick Tull, William Gaminara and David Timson amongst many others.

Unfortunately audio-books aren't cheap. Amazon now owns Audible, and for £7.99 one audio-book per month is yours.

Until you have spent years listening to audio-books in your spare time you may not realise the opportunity granted by silence. This opportunity could also be used to learn a language using the Pimsleur method; unfortunately I enjoy novels far too much to try this.