Youths impress US coaches at Score Big basketball camp

US-based professional basketball coaches shared their expertise with over 50 local children at a camp recently in Siparia.

The Score Big Basketball Camp bounced off on August 5 at the Iere High School, Siparia and brought together 55 children aged six to 18 from across the country to learn the ins and outs of the sport.

Among the trainers were Lancelot Theobald Jr, a sports enhancement specialist who believes these children could be stars.

"They have a lot of fight in them. I think if afforded the same opportunities as we get in America, a lot of these kids can thrive."

"Afforded the same opportunities and the same training, these kids can flourish and fly high and I'm proud to be a part of that."

He said the trainers brought their knowledge to the children to help give them the building blocks to find success in and out of the sport.

"So we have a high, intense physical training as well as basketball...

"It's not just basketball that you have to really enhance; your athleticism, your mobility, flexibility and your explosiveness."

Apart from his experience with sports, Theobald Jr is also an actor, dancer, choreographer and author.

Coach Dwayne Mitchell of Brooklyn, New York also said the children have potential.

"These kids have been great, their energy has been great, their love has been great, the respect has been great, the drive has been great."

He estimated this was his seventh year participating in the programme, which has been running for almost two decades.

The event used to be housed at the Point Fortin Indoor Arena but owing to logistic challenges, camp co-ordinator and South Central Zonal Commission chairman of the National Basketball Federation of TT Daron Lall said it was moved to Iere High School in 2023. He said the programme was founded by Robert Allen, a Trinidadian who migrated to the US.

"Seeing how basketball helps kids in school and in life, he wanted to bring something back to Trinidad. Over several years he has been doing this since in the 90s. It had stopped for a while but we brought it to Siparia and we started it back last year."

He said the camp was open to children of any skill as they were later grouped to provide tailored attention where needed.

He admitted this year's camp was designed to be more difficult than last year's and was given the fitting theme of: "Don't quit."

"I'm proud to say nobody quit. Everybody kept coming back and back every day."

He said 40 children who turned out at last year's camp stayed on with the South Central zone, showing up three days a week for training.

"To me that's three days for the week where you didn't have to worry about where they were – if they on the streets, if they liming or if they doing something illegal or something they not supposed to be doing."