20 teachers attend the LABA/NABORS Foundation basketball clinic in Linden

Former national basketball player-turned-coach Abdulla Hamid has commended the Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) on the staging of a basic basketball course last Wednesday for teachers in Linden at the Community Hard Court in Retrieve, with the aim of bringing more basketball officials to the game to improve youth basketball development.
In conjunction with the NABORS Basketball Foundation out of New York, the LABA organised the one-day seminar which attracted some twenty teachers through the Regional Education Department of Region 10.
Hamid and another former national player, Shana Chester, were recruited to start what is to be a series of programmes on refereeing and officiating involving teachers in the mining town.
According to Hamid, “In this day and age a lot of senior players do not show any interest in the game in youth development, so the burden now falls on the LABA. So, having something structured for the youth, and also seniors, it will show that basketball can go back to where it was in the 80s, the 90s and the early 2000s. So, I commend the NABORS association and the LABA for having this refresher basketball course in Linden and hope there are more to come.
New York-based Lindener Gary Stephens, who observed the clinic, had this to say: “This was initiated by NABORS, the North American branch of the LABA, helping to resuscitate youth basketball.” Our main focus is on youth basketball and the extension into senior basketball too. So, what we were saying is, to get good basketball, you have to get good officiating.”
The President of the LABA, Ms Dawn Barker, also a leading education official in the region, was pleased to have successfully completed the clinic with the help of Mr Hamid and Ms Chester and the assistance given by the NABORS Basketball Foundation.
Ms Barker has guaranteed that more clinics will be done to ensure improved refereeing and table officiating are realised for the upliftment of the sport at both the youth and club levels.