ABA Trains 25 Coaches in Jalingo, Calls for Renewed Focus on Grassroots Basketball

ABA Trains 25 Coaches in Jalingo, Calls for Renewed Focus on Grassroots Basketball

By BSN Sports 

The Amateur Basketball Academies (ABA) has held a two-day grassroots coaching clinic in Jalingo, Taraba State, as part of efforts to strengthen coaching capacity and promote the development of basketball in Nigeria, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

The clinic brought together 25 coaches from basketball academies, with participants receiving training on a range of subjects, including coaching principles, coaching ethics, coach-player relationships and player development.

Speaking at the event, a member of the Taraba State House of Assembly and Chairman of the Taraba State Basketball Association, Hon. Tanko Abubakar Yusuf, called on basketball stakeholders to support ABA's efforts to rejuvenate the sport at the grassroots.

Yusuf commended ABA for organising the clinic in Taraba, noting that coaches in the state have the capacity to compete with their counterparts within and outside Nigeria.

“We know that we have talented coaches, and so also the players as well as excellent referees. All we need is to stay focused and be united. We need to seek more knowledge and impact such knowledge on our players,” he said.»

The President and Founder of ABA, Deputy Comptroller of the Nigeria Customs Service, Aliyu Lucky Abubakar, urged participants to embrace the association's new vision for grassroots basketball development.

He explained that the theme of the clinic, “DRIVE,” represents five qualities he described as essential to successful basketball coaching: Diligence, Respect, Inspiration, Value and Education.

“Through these, we can build a new generation of coaches capable of taking grassroots basketball in Nigeria to greater heights,” Abubakar said.

He challenged the coaches to remain committed to developing young athletes, stressing that their responsibilities extend beyond technical instruction on the basketball court.

Abubakar urged the participants to ensure that their determination remained stronger than the challenges they face, while their character and commitment to developing young people remained greater than the pursuit of personal recognition.

“As coaches, we are teachers, mentors, leaders, role models and guardians of the dreams of young athletes. Our responsibility goes beyond the basketball court. We are helping to shape the future of Nigerian basketball and, more importantly, the future of our young people,” he said.

Declaring the clinic open, the Chairman of the Taraba State Sports Development Commission, Coach Bulus Hussaini, encouraged the participating coaches to maximise the opportunity provided by the training and use the knowledge gained to transform basketball in the state.

Hussaini also pledged the support and assistance of the Taraba State Government to basketball development whenever required.

The two-day clinic forms part of ABA's broader effort to strengthen grassroots basketball through continuous coaching education and professional development.