Youngsters pick up tips on becoming a good sportsman at three-day camp

Christopher (left) and Randy (second left) training the youths in Sungai Besi.

FOURTEEN young basketball players have been chosen as the first batch of Malaysian Jr NBA All-Stars squad after a three-day intensive training camp.

The camp was the culmination of a three month-long programmeme presented by Dutch Lady, involving participation from more than 800 youths from around the Klang Valley.

Denver Nuggets player Randy Foye was in town to share his wisdom and tips as well as help with the selection during the camp.

“My main focus is to inspire the kids to work hard every single day to get where they want to be, not just in basketball, but also in life.


Coaching and talking to the youths, helping them to understand what work ethic is all about and what it takes to be a good basketball player, including dieting, were just some of the topics that Randy shared with the juniors during the camp.

TOP 64 ATHLETES ADVANCING TO THE JR. NBA MALAYSIA 2014 PRESENTED BY DUTCH LADY MALAYSIA NATIONAL TRAINING CAMP

Jr. NBA Regional Selection Camp

Players born between 2000-2004 are eligible to participate in Jr. NBA Malaysia 2014 Regional Selection Camps for a chance to be selected as a Jr. NBA Malaysia 2014 All-Star presented by Dutch Lady.

Date: 9-10 August 2014, 9am-4pm
Venue: SMK Taman Connaught and SJK(C) Taman Connaught
Age Group: 10-14 years old

40 boys and 24 girls aged 10 to 14 years will be chosen from this regional selection camp to participate in the next stage of Jr. NBA program which is the National Training Camp.

The National Training Camp, which makes up the third stage of the programme will be held in Kuala Lumpur from August 22-24. It will be attended by an NBA Legend or Player, and it covers a three-day intensive training schedule and culminates with the selection of 10 boys and four girls who will be named as the inaugural Jr. NBA Malaysia All-Stars.

Go here to register for Jr. NBA camp.


RSC Rookie Challenge is also open for players aged between 5-9 years old. Players will be able to learn and master the fundamentals and basics such as passing, dribbling, defense and scoring, all of which will make you a better basketball player.The RSC Rookie Challenge will happen on the 9th of August 2014 at the same venue. Go here to register for RSC Rookie Challenge.

For more info on Jr. NBA Malaysia you can log in to http://jrnba.asia/malaysia/en/ or visit their official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/JrNBAMalaysia

SPALDING ICBL DRAFT 2014

Smart.com lifted the Lua Choo Hoon Trophy for the first time

defeating WG Warrior 111-84 last week.

The first Industrial and Commercial Basketball League has finally come to an end as Smart-Acc.com emerged as the ultimate champion defeating WG Warriors in a high-octane game grabbing the RM10,000 prize money.

Smart surprised a few teams during the early playoff run and become the favorite to win the title after defeating Takumi Heroes and took Danial Eves from Takumi (the rules and regulation allowed advanced teams to pick one player from the defeated teams as they progress from one stage to another) who eventually become the final MVP as they had the 30 points advantage from the handicap system.

Safe to say that ICBL is interesting for a few reasons.

The handicap system allows lesser teams to compete with elite players and present them situation where they can actually win, theoretically, with the handicap advantage and disadvantage. The handicaps also force the elite players to go all out and put up their A-game in order to win.

ICBL also proved that basketball requires team work rather than just individual talents. There are a bunch of examples shown in ICBL that current or former national or state players do not automatically translate to a win for the team. At least not more than a double digit win.

Get high on positivity

Just do it: Being positive is about having the belief that anything is

possible. If you fail, try and try again.

We have all experienced a negative teacher or educator in our lives. We can all agree that we really disliked or even hated the experience. So we don’t want the same thing to happen to our children, nieces or nephews.

But we can’t shield our loved ones from everything right? In some shape or form, they will experience something or someone negative.

In this particular area, our job as parents is to expose our children to people and environments that put great emphasis on being positive.

If you are of the belief that being positive is about always being happy and enthusiastic, well that is not quite accurate. But don’t worry; I used to think that way too.

Being positive is also about having the belief that anything is possible. If you fail, try and try again. It does not matter if you succeed or not. As long as you are improving and getting closer to where you want to be, then it is all good.

I learnt this philosophy through the Junior NBA Malaysia basketball programme that was held in KL recently.

NBA and Dutch Lady Malaysia partner in basketball programme for juniors

THE NBA’s international youth development programme, Jr. NBA, was recently launched in Malaysia for the first time with Dutch Lady Malaysia as presenting partner.

The Malaysia tip-off is part of the multiyear regional partnership agreement between the NBA and FrieslandCampina, the parent company of Dutch Lady Malaysia and one of the largest dairy companies in the world.

Jr. NBA has been staged in the Philippines for seven consecutive years as part of the ongoing partnership between the NBA and FrieslandCampina through its Alaska brand.

To-date, more than 80,000 students, parents, and coaches have participated in camps, clinics and NBA Cares activities.

Participants are trained in the fundamentals of basketball and learn the importance of the Jr. NBA core values of Sportsmanship, Teamwork, a positive Attitude, and Respect (S.T.A.R.).