After 18 months of preparation , Myerscough College Basketball Academy was officially launched on the 9th September. 24 students and 5 coaching staff completed their first week at the academy with great success as everyone settled into the daily routine at the academy and got to know each other. The following Monday, Montana State University Head Coach Brad Huse visited the academy in what was the first visit by an NCAA Division 1 Head Coach to the country this season. Huse watched academy players practice and advised coaches on the development of individual players and the programme as a whole. In their first taste of outside competition, Myerscough lost 75-50 away to Loreto College on the 25th September. Click here to read the EABL match report
OCTOBER
This blog was launched on the 21st October!
In their second EABL fixture, Myerscough took down local rivals Preston College in a closely contested game. Andre Gayle scored 32 points. Click here to read our match report
NOVEMBER
Two weeks after beating Preston College in the EABL, Myerscough faced their local rivals once again in the opening round of the BCS Cup. It took a 25 point effort from Montel Dennis for Myerscough to scrape a 77-74 win away in Preston.
Myerscough lost to a resurgent Preston College side in the semi-finals of the regional BCS tournament later in November. Myerscough host Preston in an EABL match-up in March, this will be the fourth and final time these two teams meet in the regular season.
On the 17th November academy players Chris Bwana and Andre Gayle were awarded their first meaningful minutes in the BBL as the Manchester Giants dismantled the lowly Surrey Heat at Wright Robinson College. Click here to read our match report - Manchester talent shines through as Giants bounce back
After beating Preston in the first round of the BCS Cup, Myerscough were unable to advance further as they suffered a heavy 83-68 loss at the hands of a dominant Tyne Met side who put on an outside shooting clinic/
Academy players enjoyed a trip to MediaCity UK in late November to watch a new series of a Question of Sport being recorded
DECEMBER
On December 4th, Myerscough travelled to Newcastle for the second time in as many weeks to face Tyne Met. The visitors emerged victorious from a hard fought game which was neck and neck throughout. A key factor in the win was Myerscough's ability to shut down Tyne Met's top outside shooters and force them to look elsewhere for buckets.
Neal Hopkins said of the victory; "I'm really happy with the guys, I can't see many team winning at Tyne Met - we had a game plan and it was stuck to. I have to praise the players for their maturity in this win, there will always be ways in which we can improve but today was a big step forward for us, it was great to see such a team effort"
Other competitions
-Our regional (BCS North West) / U17 team enter had a good start to the season, they picked up 4 wins across all competitions but suffered two disappointing losses to Loreto and Runshaw which they will be looking to avenge in 2014
-Myerscough enter the new year with a perfect 12-0 record in all MABL (Manchester Area Basketball League) competitions.
Check out Head Coach Neal Hopkins' first blog post by clicking on the link below
In his first blog, Academy Head Coach Neal Hopkins explores the psychology behind sporting performance and emphasises the importance of accountability in the development of young players
 |
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ALL AT MYERSCOUGH COLLEGE BASKETBALL ACADEMY |
No comments:
Post a Comment