On Wednesday 26th April 2023, 9 students from 5C attended a Basketball workshop at Leeds Beckett University. The day was started off by the coaches introducing who they were, 2 of which were a part of the England pathway. The coaches emphasised how much they wanted the children to ‘focus’ and gave them little drills such as clapping the right number of times and at the correct time, otherwise a forfeit was given!
Then it was time to start the physical side of the training. Each child was given a basketball of their own for the session, they had to get used to the feel of the ball, the weight of the ball and how to control the ball by dribbling around the hall. Looking also at spatial awareness as there were over 100 children in attendance. After this the children started to feel more confident and then now moved onto releasing and catching to ball to themselves, as catching and throwing is such an important aspect of the game.
Next, the children were split up into 3’s and it was race time. Looking at dribbling, figure of 8s, using the ball around the body, controlling the ball in lots of different ways such as sitting down, laying down etc. If the children could do it in these ways, doing it stood up would be so much easier later in their games.
I think one of the most exciting parts of the day was next, the shooting drills. The coaches taught the children how to use the square on the backboard to their advantage, how to hold the ball and how to push the ball towards the net. From the beginning to the end of this part of the drills, our children made massive improvements, being super proud of themselves when they were successful in getting the shot in, as you can see in some of the videos!
Now it was game time! As we only took 9 children, we were lucky enough to be a team of just Allerton. This allowed the children to work together, communicate with each other and use the skills they had learnt in the morning and take them into a competitive situation. Miss Patchett and Miss Whiteley were extremely proud of the group who just kept improving. After each game we reflected on what we did well and what we would do next time, and the children really did take that onto court.
Once the games had finished, we were welcomed with a very exciting surprise. Not only had the children been coached by England pathway athletes, but they also now had the chance to talk to Team GB’s very own Danny Evans. The children were in awe of this sportsman and were totally inspired by him when he spoke about the way he had got into the sport, the struggles he had faced and the challenges he had conquered along the way. 4 questions were allowed to be asked to Danny and our very own Nza was selected to ask hers! Nza asked ‘Do you always get asked for your autograph?’ Danny replied with yes and the places he gets most asked for it.
This just about rounded up our brilliant day, until the coaches announced they were going to pick 2 children from each school who they feel excelled throughout the workshop. These children were then offered with a 15-week free training programme through City of Leeds Basketball Club. Evie and Rowen were chosen from our school and what a fantastic opportunity this is from them. Alongside this every single child was given the opportunity of 1 free session for them to continue their love for the sport of basketball and continue to learn lots more.
Our Allerton children were an absolute credit to the school, they all participated with enthusiasm, willing to work hard, asked lots of questions and were overall absolutely fantastic.
