Jamboree proves big hit with youngsters

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BASKETBALL

“Excellent job.”

That was the verdict of Basketball Pacific’s Matt Cursons on the work done by head coach Dwayne Tamatea at the under-12 jamboree in New Plymouth.

Tamatea ran development sessions for coaches, in a mentoring role that kept him at the coalface with both coaches and players.

“The kids ate, slept and breathed basketball over a tournament-style weekend,” Gisborne Basketball Association chairman Tamatea said.

“They adjusted to different situations, and learned about themselves and the game.

“It was great to be able to take them back to where I’m from, where it all started for me.”

Tamatea is a native son of Opunake, 45 kilometres south-west of New Plymouth.

The 19-strong Gisborne party stayed in Opunake on Thursday and Sunday night. On Friday and Saturday, they were based in New Plymouth, where their head coach had won a national second division title for the city in 1992.

Eleven-year-olds Felix Sparks and Jorja Kepa are both in Year 6 at Mangapapa School. They thrived on the keenness and willingness to learn of everyone present, including the coaches mentored by Tamatea.

Jorja Kepa’s 17-year-old brother Thomas coached Team Kowhai — players from the contributing associations being mixed and matched — at the jamboree.

“Our coaches covered the same things that the kids did but stressed the importance of breaking the game down for players in this age-group,” Tamatea said.

“And we never take shortcuts.”