80 participants enrolled in YBG summer basketball camp

Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) this week kicked off its summer basketball camp for boys and girls at the Marian Academy court on Carifesta Avenue, Georgetown.
The objective of this camp is to develop basketball in Guyana and nurture future basketball players.
Sessions will be held from Monday to Saturday, with action lasting from 13:00hrs to 16:30hrs. The time would be divided into sessions, with beginners 7-11 years old starting the sessions and going for an hour, from 13:00hrs to 14:00hrs. Girls and intermediate players 12-16 years old would be engaged from 14:00hrs to 15:00hrs; and boys would conclude the action daily with the Advanced U18 Boys partaking in sessions for an hour and a half, commencing from 15:00 hrs and concluding at 16:30 hrs.

Speaking with Guyana Times Sport, Coordinator Leona Kyte said the aim of the camp is for the development and growth of basketball. She explained, “The aim of the Youth Basketball Guyana Summer Camp 2024 is basically to introduce basketball to those who are now learning basketball for the first time and for those who’ve been around basketball for a while, to ensure that they learn the sport the correct way, and so they can play the sport in the way it is intended to be played.”
Explaining that the programme has thus far had a positive impact on the camaraderie of participants, Kyte declared, “I see it as being very impactful because, for example, I’m sorry you guys are here now, but if you’d come earlier, you’d have seen the seven-year-olds, from seven to the ten-year-olds. That is our largest group, and it’s just a joy to see them practising the drills that they’re being shown, teaching others when their colleagues are not getting it. I’ve seen some of the small ones teaching the other ones, ‘No, not this way, this is how we’re supposed to do it’,” Kyte shared.
The coordinator has divulged the key areas needed for improvement in development of basketball by saying, “I think there needs to be more parental support. We want to thank those parents who are involving in their children in basketball and sports on a whole, but I think there needs to be more parental involvement.
“There also needs to be more facilities that can be used, especially indoor facilities, so that the kids can be a little bit more comfortable and have more access to those facilities as well. So, as of today, today is our second day of camp and we have a total of 79 student-athletes attending our camp. Our largest group is the beginners, which are the seven-to-twelve-year-olds, as well as the intermediates who are from 12-13 based on their skills, and as well the advanced.
Well, as you can see, the advanced, we have that. That’s our smallest group. The other two groups – the intermediate and the beginners – are the largest groups that we have. We want to encourage as well parents to encourage the girls to be more involved in basketball. I think that’s one thing that is lacking in sports as a whole: more female involvement in basketball.”
This camp, which concludes on August 24, has sessions being facilitated by Coach Leona Kyle, Shamaar Huntley, and many others. (Omar McKenzie)