Gisborne Basketball Association's coaches step up to the mark

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

William Arthur Ward was right — the mediocre teacher tells . . . the great one inspires.

And so it is with sports, specifically the Gisborne Basketball Association’s raft of passionate age-group representative coaches.

The basketball community here has worked non-stop to provide contact and support — some semblance of normality and social cohesiveness — in a time of Covid-19 and natural disasters.

The focus has been mainly on young players but coaches, too, have had development opportunities and exposure.

Thomas Tindale, seven years a GBA coach and teacher at Ilminster Intermediate School, has had the chance to learn from such students of the game as FIBA-accredited coach developer Natu Taufale and Taufale’s then-Basketball New Zealand colleague Morgan Maskell, both of whom last year became National Basketball League head coaches.

Tindale, like GBA life member and former head coach and chairman Dwayne Tamatea, is motivated to know more and ask questions.

“Working alongside Tama and Reg Namana has been instrumental to me — as has been my coaching relationship with Dustine Sadler of Hawke’s Bay. If there are opportunities to learn, I’m keen, because — as with teaching — a coach who has more knowledge and understanding of the game, can pass that knowledge on in different situations to get the best out of his or her players.”

Yesterday morning the GBA’s Rising Stars programme for players aged five to 11 drew 40 participants to the YMCA. The gathering was followed by the first of two musters for age-group representative players.

Tindale’s dedication to raising standards and stoking the competitive fire of the players he mentors is shared by other people in the game for the right reasons, from first-year coach Daniel Beets to former GBA president Adrian Sparks.

GBA chair Kylie Turuwhenua-Tapsell is pleased with the quality on either edge of the sideline.

“It would be the largest group of coaches — 15 — that we’ve had for a while,” she said.

“But after the big turnout at the trials (150 players registered online and in person, with 20 apologies), we might need to find more. There’s a diverse skill-set within our coaching ranks, which means there’s a lot of learning to be shared as well.

“I’m extremely grateful to the coaches who have put themselves forward to take our teams this year. It’s a big commitment but it means that tamariki (young people) from our region will have the opportunity to develop and play ball.”

The players selected to represent GBA age-group teams have much to work towards: the Mel Young Easter Classic Tournament to be held from April 7 to 10 in Tauranga, the Central Zone under-15 and u17 qualifying tournaments from June 3 to 5 in Palmerston North and potentially the Aon National Finals in North Canterbury (for u19s), Hutt Valley (u17s) and Auckland (u15s).

GBA age-group representative coaches for 2023 are: Daniel Beets (u11 kōtiro); Willie Brown, Dom Wilson (u11 tama); Thomas Tindale and Jimmy Wilson (u13 kōtiro); Matt Tong, Albie Nepia, Lawrence Mulligan, Alex Raines (u13 tama); Reg Namana (u15 kōhine); Adam Tapsell, Sean Pocock (u15 tama); Luke Bradley (u17 kōhine); Adrian Sparks (u17 tama); and Keenan Ruru-Poharama (u19 tama).