Pre-season is upon us!

 

Well, pre-season is well and truly upon us and we are fortunate enough to have Coach Tony Garbelotto working with our staff and more importantly athletes during the next 6 weeks.

With a shift in focus moving towards positional specific practices and educational sessions, we are putting in place a six week movement that will allow athletes to gain next level knowledge about the way in which they play the game.

Coach Garbelotto on positional breakdowns

 



With this in mind and in the quest to share good practice we would like to open the doors to any coach/ teacher who would like to sit in and observe our player education sessions (both on and off the court).

Our focus will be around fundamental movement on Monday and Tuesday with positional specific practices on Wednesday and Thursday of each week, this of course broken up with strength and conditioning.

Sessions will include:

- Video analysis (individually and in small groups).
- On court break-down and clinics.
- Specific 'movement' sessions.
- Positional specific practices.
- In class education sessions.
- S+C phase development sessions.

We would also like to extend this invite to any players seeking extra advice and guidance on how to move your game forward particularly during the summer months.

To join us, simply email over and we can arrange a time to suit you.

Email nhopkins@myerscough.ac.uk for more details or to arrange a visit.

Myerscough take Northwest title

 

 

Last Wednesday saw the final competitive home game for Myerscough college. The last game was a top of the table clash between Myerscough and Runshaw in the BCS Northwest league.

The season record between these two teams was 1-1, in the first game Myerscough played Runshaw the team lost by 6 followed by a cup triumph where Myerscough edged out the visitors by 2 within the last 4 seconds of play.

The two teams had previously been scheduled to play on the 2^ndApril but unfortunately this had to be  postponed to a later date. After a long three week Easter break for the home team, the chance to finally set the record straight between the local rivals and take the place at the top of the table had arrived.

Yannick Kabalan, Adam Morris, Edward McNally, Kieran Skeffington, and George Metcalf started.

From the jump ball it was clear that there was nervous energy as Myerscough won the tip and immediately attacked the basket and missed the open score. The visitors weren’t to make the same mistake as they opened the scoring with a fast break bucket. Myerscough’s first two points of the game came in the form of 2 free throws by Adam Morris after a drive to the basket.

With emotions high the home side was over zealous on defence, reaching for the ball, gambling in defensive sets causing Runshaw to make 7 trips to the foul line (6 consecutive). Despite Runshaw scoring 9 of 13 Myerscough managed to do enough on the offensive end to the finish the first quarter up 24-17 - Kieran Skeffington contributing with 8 of his 19 points before the end of the quarter.

After an initial score by Ryan Knowles the second started slowly as both team struggled to find the bottom of the net. Runshaw’s forward A.Ashcroft seemed to knock down any shot he took. Myerscough still struggled to convert only scoring 3 points in the first 4 minutes. Rushed possession, miscommunication and turnovers saw the home side scoreless until Will Shaw managed to knock down the corner 3 to take the score to 30-24 to Myerscough. Although the offense had slowed down Myerscough managed to regain some composer on the defensive end and without fouling kept Runshaw’s to only 16 this quarter, seeing Myerscough take a 41-33 lead into the half.

The third quarter saw Runshaw get out to a 9 point run, forcing a lot of turnovers and converting opportunities. Myerscough used a timeout to try to refocus and regroup but it was to no avail, Runshaw's C. Baldwin and A. Ashcroft seemed to find a rhythm, whilst the lid wouldn't come off the ring for the home team. Myerscough who only managed to score 7 points in the third found themselves down 48-49 to the visitors.

Into the final 10 minutes and for both teams it was all or nothing time. Outside of the 1^rd quarter Myerscough offence had been dormant while defence had been the lynch pin for the home side. Tough defence with poor decision making caused Runshaw to give up an immediate 6 point run and with there primary scoring option (C. Baldwin) in foul problems things were looking good for Myerscough. The dagger came with just over 2 minutes left when a drive by Kieran Skeffington saw Baldwin pick up his 5^th foul. Smart play down the stretch and with Runshaw being unable to convert on any of their attempts Myerscough U17's ran out victors, leading Runshaw 68-57 and overall winners of  BCS Northwest division one.

 

Coach Daniel Gayle said this after the game 'It wasn't pretty but perseverance and hard work enabled the team to grind out the victory. Much respect to Runshaw who have kept us on our toes all season'.

 

Leading scorers:

Myerscough: K. Skeffington  19pts 4 reb 4 Stl, R. Knowles 16pts 5 reb, and Y. Kablan 11 pts 4 reb 4 stls

Runshaw: A.Ashcroft 21pts 8 reb, C.Baldwin 12pts 11 reb

 

The win signifies Myerscough's first BCS regional title only 8 months since the programmes inception.

 

 

Myerscough and Garstang plan a Giant future together

 

 

For the past couple of months athletes and coaches from Myerscough basketball academy have been volunteering their time to a local club (Garstang Giants) who have been quietly building what has become a fantastic place to learn and play basketball.

 

With a strong membership and family feel, Garstang Giants led by Gordon Kidd have established themselves in the local area as the number one place to go for basketball. With this in mind the club also provided a great place for Myerscough staff and athletes to coach the younger generation and gain vital experience.

 

After the excellent work Gordon Kidd has done with Garstang Giants since its inception it is with pleasure that we have been able to get involved with the club and it is with great excitement that we can announce an official partnership between Myerscough College Basketball Academy and Garstang Giants is being launched, this will see the formation of ‘Myerscough and Garstang Giants basketball club’

 

 

This partnership will see more opportunities for local young people to play and give them more exposure to basketball. It will also offer a player pathway from grass route level, onto academy level and hopefully to the world of professional basketball with the Manchester Giants (the academies parent club). From a coaching perspective it allows our academy players to step onto the ladder and pass on their knowledge to the younger generation.

 

Programme leader of basketball studies at Myerscough College Neal Hopkins said ‘this is another massive step forward not only for us as an academy but also for basketball in the local area. Gordon has done a remarkable job and to see sessions with over 30 in attendance is testament to his efforts, you can be sure that we will be putting everything into making sure that the club is a success’

 

Hopkins added ‘the club currently runs sessions for U14s and U16s on a Wednesday evening; we plan on adding an U12 section within the next month as there is huge demand. It has been great to see our academy players working with the young players, it’s very important for their development’

 

This announcement come just a week after it was announced that ‘Myerscough Giants’ would be competing in England Basketball’s senior national league next season and with expansion in mind Hopkins commented ‘We are planning to be in a position to deliver junior national league next season hopefully with a number of age groups, our staff are very excited with what the future holds – these are great times for the development of basketball in the area’

 

 

For more information please contact nhopkins@myerscough.ac.uk

 

 

 

Myerscough slump to Elite 8 exit.

The Elite 8 of the EABL proved to be the end of the road for Myerscough’s first competitive season as they squared off against the highly successful South Gloucester and Stroud College (SGS) who carried an impressive undefeated record in all competitions claiming two national titles along the way.

Andre Gayle opened the scoring for Myerscough, hitting from deep. Tamas Okros replied with a three of his own after an SGS score inside to give the home side a 2 point lead after 3 minutes. Points were traded throughout the quarter as both teams sized one another up, neither really taking a grip of the game. SGS closed the scoring to take a two point lead after the first 18 – 16.

A mini burst for SGS opened up the second as they took advantage of poor defensive rotations and a lack of concentration from Myerscough. SGS pushed the lead out to 10 with 5 minutes played as Myerscough struggled to find their touch, missing relatively easy looks around the ring, a timeout was called by the travelling side as they found themselves in a scoring rut. Quick scores from Trevor Samuel and Montel Dennis pulled Myerscough back to within 6, only to be responded by an SGS triple. Back to back threes from the home side split up an 8 point Myerscough run to end the half SGS up  41 – 31.

Once again SGS opened the scoring after the break, and as Myerscough’s offensive struggles continued the home side extended their lead out to 22 midway through the third. From this point onward SGS didn’t look back. Myerscough could only convert for 7 point in a quarter that needed to be far more productive offensively and despite doing a relatively effective job defensively could not translate any of that conviction onto the offensive end. The score out at 20 after the 3^rd 58-38.

Into the 4^th and despite Myerscough’s best efforts early on the lid remained on the ring, in what was a low scoring and uninspiring quarter of basketball Myerscough strung together an 8 point burst to drag the score to 63-46 but the poor third proved too much of a hurdle and as time expired the final score finished 66 – 47 to SGS who advanced to the EABL final 4’s.

Montel Dennis finished up with a game high 11 points 5 boards for Myerscough, Trevor Samuel 9 points 3 boards, Emmanuel Kabengele with a respectable 7 points 12 boards. Tamas Okros led the way with 12 points for SGS Deane Williams chipped in with 10 points.

On the loss Coach Neal Hopkins had this to say ‘it was a poor performance from us for sure, I was really only interested in the guys doing themselves justice because they deserved to be playing at this stage of the competition, unfortunately we weren’t able to do that. We made way too many unforced errors and had a terrible day offensively – a 3 week break between fixtures certainly didn’t help. I wish SGS all the luck in the semi-final they are a well-coached, disciplined team who have developed a winning culture’

Hopkins added ‘it has been a remarkable first year for us, we have come from absolutely nowhere and have laid some solid foundations. For the record I would like to thank all of those behind the scenes who make the EABL possible it has been a pleasure to be a part of’

Myerscough will now welcome Coach Tony Garbelotto for 6 weeks of positional specific training – pre-season is well upon us!

 

 

Next step: Senior National League

The 2014/15 season will see National league basketball head to Myerscough College with the launch of our senior programme 'Myerscough College Giants'

In partnership with Manchester Giants, academy players will have the opportunity to play in England Basketball's Senior National League. The partnership importantly will allow our academy players to gain exposure to senior competition and will provide a direct pathway to the British Basketball League (BBL) with the Giants.

Programme leader Neal Hopkins had this to say 'this is a massive step forward, we were very excited to hear the news that our application had been accepted, this gives our academy athletes more opportunities to play at a higher level and the partnership will allow players to move between BBL and EBL squads'.

Giants Head Coach Jeff Jones added ' By entering a team in England Basketball's National League Division Four the opportunities that it offers for the further development of the academy players through the vital experience of competing at senior men's level can only be good for the overall development of the players, and will better prepare them for opportunities with the Giants BBL team'.

To view England basketball's senior league structure see here;

http://www.englandbasketball.co.uk/uploads/National%20League/14-15Season/Snr%20Splits%20for%20Publishing.pdf

INTERVIEW: Bradley Fisher

Bradley signing his letter of intent with Myerscough Head Coach Neal Hopkins

We sit down with Montana State commit Bradley Fisher to discuss his early basketball memories and his hopes for the future..

We asked 7ft Bradley what his earliest memory of basketball was;

My earliest memory of basketball would have to be in year 7 when I was walking to my first P.E class of high school and the teacher at the time asked if I have ever considered basketball, I said no, then he said 'Well you are getting down to practice after school today.' After that day I have always played basketball.
 

How did you come to be in the position you are in today?

The reason behind where I am today is by grabbing the opportunities I had and working hard both pre, during and post season. It has taken a lot of extra sessions on top of what I had but it was worth it and it will continue to help no matter what.

How did it feel to sign with Montana?

Signing with Montana State was a dream come true. Just to see that all the work you have put in over the years has finally paid off just hit you all at once. I felt comfortable with the Coaching staff and the academic side of what I was getting into. It just felt great, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

Having already spent a few years out in America what is it like compared to the UK?

The American style of play is very fast, they like to get up and down the floor with speed and athleticism. Compared to the UK it's more athletic and a lot quicker during the games. Also the attention it has from almost every aspect from newspapers, twitter, recruiting sites etc. they really love basketball!

What are your plans for the summer?

My plans this summer are to hopefully go out to Montana State and attend the training camp and summer school that they have. Where I will get to start on my degree and get to know my teammates before actual school starts in autumn.

Where do you hope to be in 5 years time?

5 years time? I have no idea. I hope to be able to have opportunities to play professionally in different countries which will be no easy task.

What would you say to an aspiring basketball player to help them achieve their goals?

In order to achieve your goals you will have to go all in. Give everything you have towards that goal. Take every opportunity to better yourself not just in basketball but as a student and overall person. Finally always be thankful to those around you who are willing to take you to practice or school/college and make you sandwiches, buy you basketball gear and all those kind of things.

How has Myerscough helped ready you for D1 ball?

Myerscough has helped me prepare for D1 through the style of training sessions, being able to get what I need to head over there in the summer, but also providing the support through advice and coaching on different things also by helping me understand what I should expect to do and see while at MSU.


Thanks Brad!

Myerscough embark on their first Euro adventure

 

After the successful open day and taster event run by the basketball academy staff on Monday the 14th of April, it was straight back to it; this time in readiness for our first trip abroad.

 

Luxembourg was the chosen destination, and with the promise of a great international tournament in Bertrange (the Sparteens cup) we hit the road.

After a long trip, we arrived in Folkestone, where we would spend the night ahead of a ferry crossing to Calais in the morning. A trouble free trip across the channel on Thursday took us into France. En route to Luxembourg (a 5 hour trip from Calais) we called in on Dunkirk for history lesson. After spending a few hours stretching our legs it was back on the bus.

 

With this being many of the guys first trip abroad to play basketball, Luxembourg provided a fantastic location, a quick visit to the arena in Bertrange, which is an outstanding venue put everyone in high spirits and lifted the excitement levels ahead of our first game on Friday evening.

Our game schedule meant that we had Friday morning off; this gave us a great opportunity to head into the Luxembourg City. The city steeped in history was a fantastic place to visit – it really gave the guys an idea of the culture of our host country and an eye opener as to the beauty of Luxembourg.

With a return to the arena we prepped and got loose ahead of our opening fixture against OKK Belgrade (Beograd). Our Serbian opponents who were founded in 1945 carried a lot of history, their professional team play in the top league in their home country and the club have had several members inducted into the FIBA hall of fame including the late Radivoj Korac. It was most certainly the best way to start our European adventure and without understand the magnitude of the club we were about to face we tipped off. No fear was shown in the opening exchanges and despite the Serbian side holding a significant height advantage Myerscough adjusted well limiting the inside presence of Belgrade with a physical approach. In European fashion Belgrade broke up our transition and made life hard, tactically prying on any visible weaknesses. As the game wore on it was obvious that Myerscough were not to be beaten easily and with Belgrade limiting their rotation we continued to plug away. An 11 point hole that had developed but with one minute to play we brought the score to within 2 points after a well worked offense from a timeout, and a stop on the defensive end resulted in an opportunity to score – however Myerscough rimmed out from deep. After a late foul Myerscough dropped game 1 by 3 points, missing 13 free throws along the way, final score 48 - 45. In what was certainly an eye opener for the lads we had battled throughout, for many this was the first time playing abroad and the first time experiencing the physical and tactical elements of European basketball – it was a great way to start. Belgrade went on to win the tournament crushing most teams on the way.

 

It was back to the hotel ahead of a loaded Saturday and an early get up.

With the first game at 8:30am we were up and at breakfast at 7:15am – our first game of the day would put us up against Leuven Bears of Belgium, with both teams starting slowly it was clear that concentration would be the order of the fixture, with a rotation of Coaches Myerscough’s Dan Gayle took charge. With both teams exchanging and neither able to pull away the game headed backwards and forwards for its entirety, Leuven shot the ball well from downtown whilst Myerscough struggled for an offensive impact. Leuven did a great job in preventing our dribble drive game and limited us to contested jump shots, which at 9am in the morning was not as effective as it could have been. As time wound down the Belgium’s opened up a small margin and as time expired managed to maintain the lead to send us to a 0 – 2 record walking out 4 point winners 32-28.

 

There was no time to rest as our final group game came at 11:30, this time we would play Binnenland from the Netherlands, a team we had watched the previous evening and been very impressed with. The game was fiercely competitive from the beginning and incredibly close, both teams coming up with big plays on both ends of the floor. Myerscough as they had done all tournament went far deeper into their rotation than the Dutch team using all 12 player through most quarters with great effect, with 3 minutes left we found ourselves down by 4 points. With two great stops we tied the game up, and with 18 seconds to play ran a play out of a timeout to take the lead – the play, run to perfection resulted in an open lay-up, possibly with too much time we failed to execute allowing the Dutch team to run the floor to score for 2. With no timeouts remaining we ran what we could but couldn’t find a score – a foul late in the clock put Binnenland back to the line where they split to take a 3 point advantage and no time left for a last heave. In what was a fantastic game of basketball with highs and lows we dropped to a 0-3 group record after the 49-46 loss. High praise was in order for both teams after the fixture for putting on a real show. It was a great game to be a part of.

Having finished bottom of a very tough group we would now play for 7 – 12^th spot.

Our first classification game would come against Stambruges who had finished 3rd in group A – after a slow start we hit stride, finding our touch around the ring and finishing well through contact. Stambruges struggled to stay in front of our guards and we scored with relative ease. The game put into context the level of the teams in our original group as we eased to a 30 point victory to mark our first international W – final score 62 – 32.

 

In what was our fourth game of the day we would take on the host team Sparta, a relatively young team who were eager to please the home supporters. It was very much self-preservation mode for the first quarter, with neither team asserting themselves on the game after a gruelling schedule.

 

Sparta shot the lights out from downtown to open up a 6 point gap during the 2^nd, to be replied by a rally from Myerscough levelling the game at the half. Some big plays down the stretch by a tired Myerscough team helped us etch out a 6 point victory and set up the possibility of 6^th place. The final score being 42 – 36, in what was a real battle of a game.  

 

The evening saw some down time and allowed us to stay at the arena to watch Sparta’s professional team play league champions Amicale as Sparta hunted the last playoff spot – we were treated to an awesome exhibition of basketball and the guys got to experience the atmosphere at a European basketball game – it was certainly inspiring. Sparta led by a point guard master class from the outgoing Kasey Ulin grabbed a memorable victory over their rivals in what was a heated, high paced affair. After the game it was back to the hotel and to bed!

 

With our final fixture at 2pm on the final day, we had the chance to sit back and watch some of the other teams and take on ideas during the final morning, it also allowed some time for reflection on what had been a great experience.

Game time came and once again we took to the court against Leuven Bears in an attempt for some retribution from our group game defeat. We started well, moving the ball with purpose and finishing well to punch out a 10 point lead, then as rotations came in we began to fatigue, going 9 minutes scoreless to trail by 8 at the half. A third quarter push saw us tie the ball game going into the fourth but with energy levels low we slipped to a 4 point defeat to end our tournament in 7^th place and with lots of positives to think about.

With an evening spent in the hotel it was an early start on Monday morning as we headed back to the UK, somehow we managed to get to Calais within great time and managed to catch an earlier ferry, meaning we arrived back at Myerscough after a 9 hour drive at 6:30pm – marking a little victory at the end of a great trip.

Upon reflection the tournament had provided a great stage for us to gain some valuable experience, which is what we hoped for. A great spread in playing time and everyone seeing extended minutes was the aim of the trip and considering the inexperience we have at that level the guys should be proud of every minute they played. There is a lot to take away from the trip and memories that will last a life time – our huge thanks go out to Sparta for hosting us.