Local basketball coach Darwin Vanloo holds the view that the absence of a base for basketball is the reason for the slow growth of the sport here in St Vincent and the Grenadines.{{more}}

Reflecting on the just concluded schools’ competition, Vanloo said: “There is no base of players in this country; there is no nursery and whatever is being done is not being done consistently in terms of recruiting players…. We don’t have that fundamental development of our players…. We don’t have that structure and quite clearly, the standard was not what we expected of a school tournament.”

Vanloo noted “One way of helping introduce the sport is through the community; that is the best area right now; as it is now in the school system, there is no curriculum for basketball; there the community must be used to develop the coaches and the players which would eventually filter through the school system.”

In further offering a way out, Vanloo advanced: “You have to look at players’ development and the coaches’ development …. The coaches have to equip themselves with the necessary tools and knowledge for them to deliver to the youths…. The players have to be more committed, dedicate their time and effort to train and develop the fundamentals.”

Currently, Vanloo is engaged in regular training of young basketballers between the ages of 9 and 14, through a Saturday morning programme, which takes place at the New Montrose basketball facility.

This programme forms part of Vanloo’s International Coaching Enrichment Certification Programme, which is done in conjunction with Olympic Solidarity and the University of Delaware.

Vanloo is piloting a grassroots project in South Rivers, where he is looking at developing a module to teach basketball throughout St Vincent and the Grenadines.(RT)