Bognor youngsters set to back pioneering basketball project
Basketball
A new basketball initiative is set to get under way across the south – and players in Bognor are among those involved.
It has been set up by Growth Sports Development, whose values revolve around positive attitude, people skills and growth mindset.
They try to teach players to compete like champions, giving 100 per cent at all times; encourage them to play hard but always treat each other and opponents with the utmost respect. The GSD Basketball Association will operate a league based across West Sussex, Hampshire and the outskirts of Surrey, targeting areas otherwise neglected for youth basketball.
A maximum of six teams will play in the first season, which from this month to April.
After the trial season they’ll aim to expand the league and encourage entries from additional teams. Organisers say the most important thing is that teams within our league are all fully on board with their mission and understand what they’re trying to achieve.
David Morgan, who is founder, general manager and head coach at GSD, said: “Youth sport teaches a multitude of skills to children; many useful lessons that will most likely stay with them throughout their lives.
“We believe at GSD that we have an obligation to teach our players the importance of sportsmanship, positive attitude and growth mindset.
“We know it is possible to do this through sport and argue there is no better way; that said, in order to achieve this, we must ensure our message is reinforced in all we do.
“Entering our players and teams into leagues in which progress and success are solely measured using conventional league tables is counter-productive.
“We want to change the way coaches and leagues approach youth sport and hope to do this through the GSD Basketball Association (GSDBA). The GSDBA is fully committed to player development on and off the court.
“We’ll use a points system that rewards winning but also attitude and sportsmanship.
“Each sportsman of the game will earn an additional league table point for their team. Awards will be given for things such as ‘best post-game handshake’ in tournaments.
“There are a number of additional rules and regulations the league will have in place to encourage teams and players to teach and develop skills beyond the game of basketball, which will be publicised at a later date.
“Our first season will be just under-12s. This will be a trial season. We’ll assess what works well and identify what needs further evaluation. At the end of the season, we hope to have an understanding of how best to run the league moving forward and how we can expand it while ensuring we do not compromise our goals or values in any way.”
Anyone interested in finding out more should email