More Than Ball completed a 3 day Skills Clinic, conducted by Coach Mike Garcia and Coach Mike Niles, on Wednesday, which was heralded a success. Photo: VINO

Coach Garcia, demonstrates a Skill Drill to an Elite Group of Players including Ray Victor. Photo: VINO

Coach Niles, the Resident Coach for More Than Ball, gives the players a pep talk before putting them through their paces. Photo: VINO

Recently out of the Warner University Programme, Victor adapted to the Drills quickly, whilst some of the local based players took a little longer to understand the importance of training with discipline. Photo: VINO

Garcia’s drills, although in a lot of cases endorsing the work already done by More Than Ball, soon had the "Elite" players getting a good sweat on. Photo: VINO

Players had to perform various warm up routines from the new and enlightened to the tried and tested "push-ups. Photo: VINO

The Clinic, organized by Keith “88” Malone of the More Than Ball Programme and run as part of the BVI Basketball Federation’s plan to enhance all areas of the game within the Territory, saw Boys and Girls from 11 years upwards participate in various Fitness, Skill, Speed and Game Play situations under the watchful eye of coaches Mike Garcia, from Florida and Mike Niles, the resident More Than Ball programme coach.

Other Basketball coaches from around the Territory were also invited to come, get involved and learn some new Training tools.

“We have the 2014 Basketball Summer League coming up and we thought it important to enhance the skills of some of the players who will be taking part,” said Malone.

Malone met one of the coaches, Mike Garcia, in Florida and liked the way he held his Skill and Speed Practice sessions. “He is young; he is good and has been doing this for 3 or 4 years,” he said.

Malone felt that although the Clinic had gone well, the numbers of players attending was a little disappointing. “Truly we should have got more players attending, all the coaches were invited, but [we] didn’t get the numbers. Some of the age brackets were good, but given the aim was to promote basketball to its highest quality we needed more,” he explained.

Not too disheartened Malone promises the Federation will be doing more and more. “As we go along players are going to have to improve their skills to compete and more clinics will be organized.”

The Federation is planning coaches’ Clinics and ensuring that there is regular training and coaching.

Mike Garcia has worked in Florida and coaches from Professionals down through to High Schools and even Younger players. “The camp was very successful, the guys will take a lot of the tools they learnt from the three days and continue to use them on their own. The talent on the Island is unbelievable and I think that they all they need are the right tools to get even better,” said Garcia.

Mike Niles, who regularly runs the More Than Ball Programme, was happy that the players were able to take part and also that Garcia, offered a positive endorsement of the work that More Than Ball has been doing.

“The camp has given positive endorsement to the programme and confirmation that what we have been doing is the right direction. Someone coming in from the States, doing and saying some of the same  things that we have been putting in place has opened the players’ eyes to what they can get from the More Than Ball programme,” said Niles.

More Than Ball is working closely with the Federation and delivers a programme designed to instill the discipline, training and skills required by, for example, Junior Colleges and other Educational Establishments in the USA.

“The obvious choice to join More Than Ball is the dedication and commitment of the Coaches. We are training every day, including Saturdays. We do beach work outs, gym work outs, drills and also instill the necessary discipline to get to the next level,” said Niles. “More Than Ball takes its work very seriously and has a basic tenet of discipline.”

“Everybody wants to play and have fun,” said Coach Mike, “but it takes a lot of discipline to actually train and if you have the discipline to train then you can get to the next level and find the playing is even more fun.”