The importance of children playing sports cannot be emphasised enough, especially with today's urban kids leading such inactive lifestyles — sitting for hours in traffic jams, spending weekends with tutors in classrooms and using smartphones in their spare time. Inactive children will inevitably grow up to be inactive adults, and we all know the health problems that can then ensue.
This Christmas break, professional basketball player and coach Anthony Porter is coming to Thailand to join the country's first "I'm Possible Basketball Camp", hosted by 4-The-Love Basketball Academy. The world-renowned coach will spend a whole week, from Dec 15 to 19, training boys and girls aged from six to 18 about the joys of his sport.
Porter, director of the I'm Possible Training Center in North Carolina, USA, said that he was an active kid, playing with friends in his free time. The energy he got from being active sparked his initial interest in basketball. However, to reach his full potential, Porter was coached through his limitations, which drove him to try harder and aim higher.
"I believe confidence and persistence makes a great basketball player. First of all, you have to believe in yourself and learn how to develop a tough mental attitude," he said.
"Some players do not start off with great talent or amazing ability, but when you stick with it and fall in love with the process of becoming better each time you step on the court, you can achieve anything."
I'm Possible is a leading basketball training camp in the USA, founded in 2009 by Micah Lancaster, a world famous NBA skills coach. It has trained basketball lovers in over 50 countries.
Porter believes that basketball should be played by all ages, but is particularly good for children, both boys and girls.
"It definitely challenges you and helps you build great relationships with other people. It's a sport that you can fall in love with," he said. "I don't believe basketball is perceived as a boys sport. It's definitely a sport for everyone who will respect it and work hard at being great at it"
Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to be tall to be a good basketball player. Porter said there are many undersized players who didn't listen to people who said, "Hey, you're too short to play basketball".
"Look at Isaiah Thomas, Spud Webb and Muggsy Bogues, all of whom are considered undersized players who did great things in the game," he said.
In this upcoming basketball camp, players can expect a detailed skills training programme. Together with coaches from the 4-The-Love Basketball Academy in Thailand, young participants will undergo individual and team skills drills that incorporate cognitive and motor components essential to the development of any young athlete. Parents can expect to see their kids achieve considerable improvement over five days of hard work.
"I'm Possible camps are some of the most sought-after camps in the world, designed around the concept of making every player feel like they are training alone in the gym," he said. "In fact, the purpose of I'm Possible is to empower and equip players of all levels with the skills needed to train themselves."
This will be Porter's first visit to Thailand and he is optimistic the camp will prove fun for all the young people.
"I look forward to meeting with the young players who I am going to spend a week with," he said.
"This basketball camp is a great start to what I feel will be a long lasting relationship between myself and 4-The-Love Basketball Academy. We will be returning again next year to see how these young
players develop their skills and I believe that their dream is possible. I am here to turn what they think is impossible to 'I'm' possible."
The camp will offer both morning and evening sessions. The morning session (10am–3pm) will be at Shrewsbury International School and the evening session (5pm–7pm) will be at Indoor Basketball Courts on Sukhumvit Soi 105, Soi Lasalle. Deadline for registration is December 12. To register, call 081-989-8748 or 083-3010-330, or email sherrie@4-the-love.com. Visit www.4-the-love.com or www.facebook.com/FTL.Basketball.
