Pacific Youth Leaders Camp: Day 8 recap
GOLD COAST - On day eight of the Pacific Youth Leaders Camp, the coaches took a step back, allowing the athletes to teach themselves.
Supplied by FIBA Oceania
Remaining in the same multicultural and gender groups as the previous day, the campers were given time to design a 10-minute drill to coach their peers.
The athletes were reminded how this activity showed that coaching isn’t just about yelling out instructions to players. Instead, the campers were instructed on how coaching is also about using the communication and leadership skills they’ve gained throughout the week.
Using this advice, the athletes were able to coach one another through drills; covering shooting, defense, lay-ups, and even coaching their fellow campers during scrimmage matches.
With the guidance of the PYL coaches and leaders at their disposal, many of the campers are discovering how they can use basketball to help influence positive social chance in their home communities.
At the leadership session, Mthoko Madonda of Reach Sports Management, mentored each PYL athlete one-on-one. The day before, Madonda advised each athlete to think about their goals and individual brands. Madonda was keen to hear from the campers where they wanted to be in the next three months and three years. He sought to discover what was it each athlete wanted for themselves.
Madonda also took time to explore how the athletes felt about the camp. Despite the campers starting to feel the effects of the long days on the court, the energy and excitement levels remained high among the group.
That night, the PYL men and women played their second matches of the camp.
In their match-up with the North Gold Coast Seahawks, the PYL men were once again victorious, this time by 14 points. In the fast-paced, action packed affair, there were a number of standouts on the PYL squad.
The Fijian pair of Collin Lal and Josua Qalova were defensive stewards, with both of them coming up with steals that led to fast-break points. Manoah Moli and Ryan Paia controlled the glass, with both men pulling down high rebound tallies.
Offensively, Aron Farmer and Verle William Jr were the standouts, as they scored and created plays for their teammates.
It was a double-dip for the PYL campers, as the women also came out with a win over the Seahawks by six points. In a game that came down to the wire, the PYL women played terrific transition defense, not allowing the Seahawks to get out and run.
Vilisi Tavui was dominant on both ends of the court, while Jess McDowell-White made a number of key hustle plays in the narrow victory.
* This event has been made possible through Australian Government funding.
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