The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER an exciting draft day over the weekend, coach Denykco Bowles said they are all excited about the launching of the International Basketball Academy’s inaugural Grassroot Youth Basketball League next weekend.

About 50 players between the ages of five and 20 years showed up on Saturday at Prince Charles Park, Gleniston Gardens East, to participate in draft day.

The IBA was able to select its first four teams in the under-18 division, four in the 15-and-under division, three teams in the 13-and-under and two in the under-11 division.

The league, which is expected to run from Saturday, January 15 to Saturday, April 2, is designed to hone the skills of all participants as the coaches in the IBA’s programme provide some real-game situations for year-round opportunities for development and nurturing.

“This is going to be our spring league with 10 weeks of regular play and then the postseason and the championships in each division,” Bowles said.

“We were quite pleased with the amount of players who showed up. We expected more, it’s a good crew to get started with.”

Bowles, coach of the Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins’ senior boys basketball team, will be joined by a number of coaches in the IBA programme, including Ricardo Pierre, Jerome Lucas, George Williams, Jamal Bain, Dominique Fernander and Buster Panza. “We really want to get more parental involvement, especially from the male perspective, to come out and be a part of the programme,” Bowles said. “It’s always good when the players can see their parents coming out and being involved in the programme as well.”

Also during draft day, Bowles said Lucas was able to conduct a clinic for both the players and the coaches, bringing them up to speed on some of the rule changes that will be implemented for the league.

“I think it’s going to be a very exciting league,” Bowles said. “The players are all excited about participating and the coaches are looking forward to working with them. It’s an alternative to us not having any basketball in the high school system right now.”

Due to the increase in the cases of COVID-19, Bowles said there won’t be any basketball played in the high school right now because the schools have not returned to face-to-face learning as yet. But he said the league will allow the coaches to keep the players motivated as they hone their skills.

For those players still interested in participating in the league, Bowles said they can contact him at 466-0049 or email info.ibabahamas@gmail.com