Club Sponsorship Urged

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32011, 11 June 1969, Page 17

Club Sponsorship Urged

To take its place in international competition, New Zealand basketball needed a national sponsored interclub competition among the best teams in the country.

This was stated yesterday by the 6ft Sin American professional basketball player, K. Swagerty, who is on a coaching tour of New Zealand, when he arrived in Christchurch with his wife (photograph above). The top 12 club teams in New Zealand sponsored by local companies in their area, playing in a national competition, would improve the ability of basketball players and win more of the public to watch the game, he said. “The system was begun in Italy recently with tremendous success. I played there for a year after leaving university and club matches had crowds averaging more than

8000 a match—more than for a professional game in the United States,” he said. “The finance may be hard to raise at the start, perhaps only $2OOO for each club, but if a team wins the competition it will be able to consider sponsorship from several companies in its next season.

“The players in Italy are still amateurs, but the clubs and the game are prospering under sponsorship.” Swagerty toured New Zealand in 1966 with the Venture for Victory team. He now plays for the. professional club, Houston Mavericks. He volunteered for the coaching tour with the Venture for Victory association during the four-month break between basketball seasons in the United States. -

He visited Fiji before flying to New Zealand and will coach in Sydney, Brisbane and Port Moresby, New Guinea, after leaving Christchurch on Thursday. “There has been a lot of

progress in New Zealand since I last played here," he said. “On our tour in 1966 we were able to beat teams easily by huge totals, but 1 don’t think it would be as easy now.

“The team-work has improved, which I think reflects the improved coaching. There are more gymnasiums and players seem to be taking up the game at a younger age, with better results.

“To get the improvement you need good coaches —and young players. What has been happening in many countries is that players begin the game at 17, and it takes them three years to learn the basic skills, then they spend five more years mastering the technique. When they are at last accomplished players they are ready to retire.” Swagerty coached the Canterbury representative team at the Young Men’s Christian Association last evening and will hold a coaching clinic for players this evening.