News Update - July 2007

13th July 2007 - NEW BASKETBALL ACADEMY FOR LONDON AIMS TO PRODUCE FUTURE OLYMPIC TALENT

London United, the capital’s leading professional basketball team, is joining forces with the London Borough of Greenwich’s 2012 Legacy Team to establish a new full-time Basketball Academy in the borough, with the aim of nurturing home grown talent for the London Olympics and beyond. The Academy will open in September.

The Academy will draw on Greenwich’s already successful G Plus College Scheme, which has created a new network of post-16 centres across the borough. The new Academy will focus on a schedule of combined basketball training and academic study. Academic studies will be based at the Shooters Hill Sixth Form College whilst basketball tuition will take place at a brand new training facility at the nearby Eltham Green High School. Greenwich has London’s largest school population, with over 37,500 pupils attending its various educational establishments.

The G Plus Academy will accept applications from all over the London Borough of Greenwich and surrounding areas. The initiative will take on 20 young players, who will compete in around forty games over the season. The Academy will aim to graduate a minimum of 16 out of the 20 players.

Tony Garbelotto, Head Coach of London United and Assistant Head Coach of the Great Britain team, will take on the role as the Academy Head Coach.

“There are no real secrets to producing young talent” explains Garbelotto. “You need three ingredients; good coaching, facilities and court time”.

“We want our young players to come into the Academy under no illusions, they are here to study first and play basketball second” adds Garbelotto. “To play in America, for example, it is essential that students have a strong academic portfolio”.

This is what the London United coaching team is focused upon. With basketball being the second most played sport amongst teenagers in the UK, the programme is looking to discover some new talent, while still giving teenagers a reason to enter further education.

The G Plus Basketball Academy will have a strong ethos in the development of student-athletes, with players only able to progress practically if their academic targets are surpassed. Students will be based at Shooters Hill College on both part and full time academic courses. The Academy will then employ an Academic Advisor to monitor the programmes of study and act as the link between the colleges and coaches.

Many of the current London United team spent time at American Colleges, and with British players like Luol Deng (Chicago Bulls) and Pops Mensah Bonsu (Dallas Mavericks) now playing in the NBA, British basketball is slowly starting to become more internationally recognised. In acknowledgment of this player respect some London United players will also be employed at the Academy as Student Mentors. The training programmes will be only half of the mentor’s responsibility, with a role as Academy Assistant Coach also being incorporated.

Trials will take place at Eltham Green Sports College on Wednesday 18th July between 4pm and 7pm. Trialists should register their interest by contacting John Dixon at jdixon@elthamgreen.com or Ben Waller at bwaller@elthamgreen.com.

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