In an effort to develop the basketball sport and produce more players from Ngamiland, Maun based basketball club, Delta Spirit has continues to offer opportunities and training to those interested in the sport in the region, with more focus on the youth.
Club Founder and Coach, Wallace Chikukutu has said the region has the potential to produce good basketball players, since its community members are naturally well known for their unique physical characteristics such as tall heights and being long-limbed, features which give added advantage to excel in the sport.
‘Taller players have an advantage in basketball because their shots have less distance to travel to the basket, they start closer to the rebound, and their ability to reach higher into the air yields a better chance of blocking shorter players’ shots,’ he explained.
Having coached the club since 2013, Chikukutu said his intention is to take the region’s basketball to a better standard to bring to fore talent in the region. The players have also reportedly shown commitment towards playing the sport. The club is conducting its trainings every weekday at Tshwaragano CJSS in Maun.
With the high rates of unemployment among the youth sky rocketing, the Club seeks to keep them busy through spot and refrain from exposure to drug and alcohol abuse and other social ills.
Chikukutu has revealed that they intent to establish and develop the under 10, 12 and 16 teams so as to grow the sport at grass root level. The coach further indicated that they are currently engaging with other basketball teams from Shakawe and Orapa to play some friendly games to prepare for bigger competitions.
“Our intention is to register the club at Registration of Societies by next month so that we can become Botswana Basketball Association (BOBA) affiliates to allow for our participation in the national basketball competitions,” he said.
By being non-BOBA affiliates, the club was denied opportunities to participate in the national basketball competitions, to acquire sponsorships and to use the Maun Sports Complex for their training sessions.
He has called on the Botswana National Sports Association (BNSC) to allow clubs to use their stadia even those not registered with the Registrar of Societies.
Just from the picture to the opening it shows not much work was done by the journalist. That’s not Delta Spirit kit and not Delta Spirit players in that picture. I’m a member of the team and can’t relate, doesn’t even tell how it all started and the journey. Please if you tell a story tell facts