Fireball Oct 2011

October 2011 www.firebasketball.ca Official Newsletter of: FIREBALL MORE THAN A GAME words: Paul S. Hendren “At Fire Basketball our focus is not only in the development of complete players, but teaching life skills through sport.” FBA Head Coach Darnell Charlemagne Shortly after resigning his post as Canadian National Fire coaching ranks. To understand the collective soul of Team Basketball Coach Leo Rautins engaged in dialogue Fire’s army of dedicated volunteers is to comprehend that with sports radio host Bob McCowan. Rautins was not basketball is ‘more than a game’. Misplaced values bitter nor was he vindictive after the Olympic qualifying certainly doesn’t govern the Fire faithful. tournament went painfully sour for the Canucks. During For Darnell Charlemagne, one of Fire Basketball’s the radio interview Rautins made a bold assessment about founding members, the club has a far bigger reach than the basketball culture in Canada. He proclaimed that one five on five action. of Canadian basketball’s pitfalls is that it is infiltrated by “At Fire Basketball our focus is not only in the ”misplaced values”. He spoke of how player development development of complete players, but teaching life skills at times takes a back seat to player exposure. through sport,” he explained. While Rautins dissected a system in need of a tune up Deryck Dyal, one of FBA’s senior spokesmen, is a firm the folks at Fire Basketball continue to operationalize their believer that the club has dedicated coaches that go mission statement that has been their calling card since beyond coaching. the first day they opened a bag of Spaldings. “Respect, “I have always told players , I don’t teach basketball, I teamwork and attitude” is the common song among the [1] teach life,” he explained of a personal philosophy that fits nicely with the club’s motto. “When teaching players, we start with fundamentals the same way everyone learns to crawl first, then walk, then run,” he said. Dyal advised that FBA emphasizes having the right attitude and working hard as both will take you a long way in life. “Lastly, we believe in keeping it simple as you have more fun when things are simple and easy,” he added. In Southern Ontario the reality of the basketball culture is the fluidity of player movement. Players change clubs Coach Deryck: Old school values and life sometimes as often as they change shoes. It is that type of lessons through basketball thinking that puzzles Fire Head Coach Dwayne Lubin. "Our entire coaching staff at FIRE Basketball puts great passion within Fire Basketball’s coaching ranks . “While we pride and effort into developing the players that join our are experiencing an overall increase in the number of kids program; we spend countless hours on the floor teaching joining our programs, year-in-and-year-out we still witness and mentoring kids, in addition to many-a-nights off the floor players leaving for what they deem to be greener in committee meetings working towards providing kids in pastures,” he said. “But as the old saying goes: the grass our club with quality programs,” explained Lubin of the isn't always greener on the other side." ROAD WORK (by Chedwick Crieghtney, FBA Chairman) This past summer when on the way to Pittsburgh I was incaged in an eight seat van driving seven plus hours to one of our many tournaments. The players were all 18 and 19 years old, filled with excitement and busting with testosterone. I am blessed that each of these boys and their parents have come to trust me enough to embark on these trips across the border without any parental supervision For seven long hours I endured the agony of the youth gangsta rap without complaint, but when faced with the same torture on the return trip I finally objected and asked that they change the music to something more to my liking. That's when the teaching moment began....I was duly reprimanded for my objection and referred to as "OldSKOOL" in a light hearted slight. I was then educated on music and then enlightened on the meaning behind each piece of verbiage. These boys went on to tell me about their parents and teachers and some of the things impacting their lives. They told me of their fears and so may thing that they say that they never have and never will dicuss with their parents. I was able to share my views on drugs, spirituality, music (from their parents POV), the ILUMINATI, race, and many other topics. The questions were many but it made the seven hours seem like a ride to the corner store. The players said they learned a lot and I learned more than I would ever imagine. This became the theme for out many hours on the road over the summer as they players shared their thoughts and I was able to help guide them a little bit. This is what Fire Basketball is to me. [2] NUMBERS GAME As a coach there is nothing more READING IS A BALL words from our Coaches frustrating than seeing young players enter a gym and immediately start By: Dayne Benjamim tossing threes in the direction of a FBA Head Coach backboard. Some find the target yet most miss badly. Tim Duncan, a multiple NBA all- Do the math... star and ‘shoe in’ for the Hall of Fame, is a high percentage shooter. The San When players gravitate towards Antonio Spurs big man is a gym rat shooting threes they are practicing the who prefers to shoot bank shot after lowest percentage shot in basketball bank shot from just outside the paint. (next to the half court heave). The He is one of the NBA’s most prolific closer in , the higher the percentage Our Fire players are now firmly scorers. shot and better chance for rebounds entrenched in their respective Do the math... by your teammates. schools ,ready to do battle in the Do the math... upcoming months of scholastic Duncan is not interested in mayhem. The reality of being a attaching himself to the highlight reel We repeatedly tell our players that basketball parent is that it is with shots beyond the arc. He just an excellent three point shooting somtimes easier to convince our delivers bank shot after bank shot percentage is in the 30% range verses children to pick up a ball rather perfected during his endless hours of 60% in the paint. than open a book. gym time. Duncan is a NBA champion There are a series of fascinating basketball stories that - multiple times over. End of equation! Do the math... may just be the tonic to encourage our talented young ballers to also become stronger readers. Mike Lupica , a veteran sports reporter with the New York Daily News , has also written an engaging set of sports books for young minds, including several that cover the trials and tribulations of young basketball players searching for glory. Lupica’s intimate knowledge of basketball is legitimate. His years as a beat reporter covering the NBA makes his stories believable and his words digestible for younger readers. Many of his books can be purchased online through Chapters or Amazon. Visit Coach Dayne (middle), Coach Conrad and their www.mikelupicabooks.com for lads of Fire. Hopefully they know their math. details. [3] Does practice really make perfect? Footwork is also an important aspect When it comes to the art of shooting, is of shooting the basketball consistently going to the gym to put up 500 shots and on balance. Being able to receive without a plan the road to a consistent a pass while being shot ready has a lot jumper? I would argue that perfect to do with a players’ ability to set up practice makes perfect and the quickly and before the ball arrives in importance of knowing what you want their hands; be quick but not in a hurry. to accomplish before you enter the Practicing game shots at game speed is gym will help you practice more also important to developing efficiently as well as reinforce good consistency in a players shot. It is not habits. good enough to shoot casually in a gym once your warm up is over; the While often overlooked by players game is played at a much quicker pace during a shooting workout; five and players should try to replicate that minutes of form shooting as a warm pace a best as they can. Take shots you up works to help players reinforce the will take in a game, understand the Shooting With fundamentals of shooting. Form offense you play in and where those shooting helps players understand what shots will come from and practice a good shot feels like and gives them them. Purpose the opportunity to replicate it consistently. It helps to promote good Have a plan, know what you want to words from our Coaches balance, develop consistency in lifting work on before you get to the gym and the ball smoothly up the players shot track your progress. By: Darnell Charlemagne line, the release of the ball at the top of FBA Head Coach the players shot which in turn helps develop a consistent release point and follow through. Young trialists ready for the rebound during Fire Basketball’s Major Bantam / Bantam tryouts at Pine Ridge in Pickering. Young athletes from U10 to U17 converged in Pickering and Toronto for a chance to catch on with Fire Basketball Association. [4] The trials of BASKETBALL Blood, sweat and tears was the name of the game throughout September.

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