Match Report: HUD Mens 1st vs Bradford 1st

Here follows a critical review of the University of Huddersfield Mens 1st team performance on 06.03.13.

	No	Points	Fouls
James Deakin	4	0	0
Ivan Robles	5	0	1
Eimantis Lukauskis	6	0	3
Kehinde Babalola	7	4	2
Kamil Piskorz	8	16	3
Yannick Legros	9	10	0
Hassan Haq	10	0	0
Robert Senior	11	6	1
NaurisAgafonovs	12	6	1
Airidas Surkus	13	8	1
Dan Moore Amr Ibrahim	14 15	10 0	1 0
Total		60	13

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
HUD	13	27	37	60
BRD	12	28	39	56

The final game of the season started with a full house. Two (debatable) referees were present at the game.


The first quarter saw Huddersfield start with strong defensive energy. A starting five of Misters: Legros, Babalola, Moore, Piskorz, and Surkus. Despite slow progress in terms of points, Bradford No. 13 was benched due to his 3 fouls - Bradford in fact committing 6 fouls in the quarter. For the home team Mr. Surkus lead the scoring with an aggressive 7 out of 13 points. The quarter ended 13-12 with Bradford the clear underdogs.


At the start of the second quarter Bradford decided to bring in an outside offence, with No. 7 totalling 12 points in the quarter. Coupled with some sloppy offence and a few turnovers from the home team, Huddersfield's energy had been zapped by Bradford's prowess at the three point line. The quarter ended 27-28 to Bradford.


Following a hearty speech from coach Mark Mills at half time; "They have more energy than us! F**K THAT! ...", Huddersfield picked up the pace in the second half. Despite more energy Bradford managed to hold on to the lead - more due to poor defence than strong offence. A close end to the third quarter 37-39 to Bradford.


The final quarter belonged to the fans. A downhearted Huddersfield team began the final quarter with even more energy; spurred on by the chants of "DEFENCE, DEFENCE..." at every Bradford possession, Huddersfield forced many turn overs. The one sided refereeing tipped to Huddersfield's favour as three Bradford players were fouled out, however this did not last long. Despite the horrendous crimes to humanity committed by the disillusioned and most likely intoxicated referees, the home team kept their heads up. The home team found themselves 6 points down with 56 seconds left on the clock.


Thanks to strong defence and quick hands from Mr. Piskorz, and an outstanding effort from the home team, the scores were even with only a few seconds left. Coach Mark Mills had used a full court press to great effect for the majority of the final quarter - it paid dividends as Huddersfield gained possession and were fouled at every opportunity - Bradford ended the final quarter with over 10 team fouls and a total greater than 25 team fouls. Despite some sloppy free throw shooting, an ecstatic Huddersfield took and held the lead to finish 60-56. The crowd roared as the supporting members of them team flew from the stands and congratulated their team mates; in less than a minute they had gone on a 10 point streak.


An entertaining and thrilling end to the season sees Huddersfield Mens 1st team promoted to the BUCS Northern 2B league. Another season like this and Coach Mark Mills may need hair implants. In the words of an anonymous team member; what followed was a 'messy night'.

Panorama: Home

Panoramic images convey entire landscapes in a single image. Here are a few that I have constructed using Hugin Panorama Creator (linux).

The Naden and Greenbooth reservoirs are where I go running on a fine summers day. In 2008 a wind farm was constructed.

Match Report: HUD Mens 1st vs York St. John 1st

Here follows a critical review of the University of Huddersfield Mens 1st team performance on 30.01.13.

	No	Points	Fouls
James Deakin	4	2	0
Ivan Robles	5	0	3
Eimantis Lukauskis	6	2	2
Kamil Piskorz	7	2	5
Rob Senior	8	0	0
Yannick Legros	9	29	1
Hassan Haq	10	21	3
Nauris Agafonovs	12	2	1
Airidas Surkus	13	7	4
Kehinde Babalola	14	4	1
Dan Moore	15	17	1
Total		86	21

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
HUD	16	41	64	86
YRK	20	40	55	71

With an outstanding number of supporters this important league game was under way, notably the support from the University Netball team was excellent. Unfortunately only one referee was present at the game.

The first quarter had a slow start, with York St. John number 4 scoring at least 9 points - many of these were 3 point shots taken from more than a metre from the 3 point line! Mr. Legros lead the home side in the first quarter with 7 points, mostly converted from post power moves. With more than 5 turn overs the home side struggled with some sloppy ball handling and passing. York lead 20 -  16.

The second quarter saw Huddersfield pick up the pieces. As in the first quarter evidence of boxing out was scarce, which wasn't helped by persistent uncalled illegal screens from York. 16 points from York's number 4 kept them in the game - 6 three pointers in the first half. Huddersfield were successful when executing their plays, as seen from the 10 points from Mr. Legros and 7 points from Mr. Moore. Mr. Babalola made a few easy baskets - the rewards of quick hands on defence. Huddersfield take the lead 41 - 40.

At the start of the second half Huddersfield increased the pace. Mr. Haq was called to duty and answered whole heartedly. After a few mysterious misses he went on to sink 6 three pointers in the second half. Huddersfield defence was more vigorous; this lead to a lead of 13 points. Despite a misplaced 3 point shot Mr. Legros was consistent with a further 12 points in the second half. York pull back the lead to a mere 4 points, but Huddersfield finish the quarter strong at 64 - 55.

The tension on court becomes tangible, with York St. John's premier big man being fouled out and 'hail-mary' number 4 much slower from fatigue. A few dodgy calls lead to a multitude of fouls from Huddersfield - almost 10 in the final quarter. this gave York the opportunity to level the score from the free throw line. Mr. Haq was having none of this. With two consecutive three pointers, the second a +1, Huddersfield seal the game and send York home in tears.

This game showed a few things; Huddersfield have the heart to win this league, but will they listen to their coach, Mark Mills, or continue to run 'hero' plays that end in turnovers instead of points? All in all the strong support was welcomed and every player pushed themselves. An excellent spectacle - but another game that tense could push back Mark Mills' hairline a few inches...

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.