Summer basketball training

Press, 2 August 1983, Page 23

Summer basketball training

A Canterbury Countrywide league men’s basketball squad is almost certain to be announced in the next few weeks to start summer training. Several members of the Canterbury Basketball Association have been discussing the suggestion and a decision is likely to be made before the end of the present season. The president of the association, Mr Peter Crowhen, the Canterbury coach, Mr Darrell Todd, and the captain, Clyde Huntley, this week agreed that summer training would almost certainly be introduced for the first time. _ “The Basketball Federation has not yet decided when the . league will be played next season,” said Mr Crowhen, "but two periods have been suggested, the first to start in March through to May, and the second from July to September” (This season the league was held in May, June and JU A hfarch start would give New Zealand squad members, who travel overseas midway through the year, the chance of playing a full league programme; starting in July would also give them the opportunity of playing in most of the matches. . The federation’s annual meeting is in December when a decision on the scheduled to be made, but many officials and players

want an earlier confirmation of the league starting date. “Going on the assumption that March will be the starting date, then we would have to have summer training,” Mr Crowhen said. But whatever date is set he agrees that summer training is a good idea. Mr Crowhen has his doubts about a July start. “Whether the national squad members would be interested in going into a hectic three months of league games after an overseas tour is not certain,” he said. A Canterbury and Aranui club forward, Andy Bennett, does not share Mr Crowhen’s view on the New Zealand players. “The.league is becoming something really big,” said Bennett, a former New Zealand representative. “A lot of the players think that playing league basketball is just as good as being in the New Zealand team.” A present New Zealand guard, John Rademakers, is of the same opinion. Huntley wants a squad to be named at the end of the season. “The invitation should also be extended to first grade players who want to keep fit in the off-season,” Huntley said. “In this time the emphasis would be on the basics, getting players to work on their flaws and, generally, keeping basketball in mind.” He suggests that two or

three training sessions a week would be of immense value, not only to squad and prospective representative players, but other senior team members.

“To add a bit of fun to the weekly training every now and then composite teams would be chosen to play a game,” Huntley said. “Keeping fit for basketball is totally different to most other sports,” he said. “You have to work on a court; a lot of guys reckon that getting fit is going for runs, some up to 10 miles. I couldn’t run half that distance if I was asked to,” commented Huntley who last week-end was named one of the five New Zealand All-Star team players. .A survey this week of senior .Canterbury basketbailers showed that more than half do not take part in any sport in the summer, and few are involved in organised sport. Surf live-saving, athletics (including field events), cricket, tennis and golf (ftademakers is a single-figure handicap) are used to varying degree as an off-season activity. Most prefer to term their summer sports as purely social, and are not keen playing in the summer competitions. "At Aranui we have another name for our off-season ‘sport’,” quipped Bennett. “It doesn’t require much energy, just stamina.”