Jnr NBA open clinics get off to roaring start with 800 participants

SINGAPORE - Eight hundred kids and teenagers turned up at "Our Tampines Hub" on Saturday (June 17) for the first day of the Jnr NBA open clinics at this year's edition of Jr. NBA Singapore 2017.

Conducted by top youth coaches from the National Basketball Association (NBA) and ActiveSG Basketball Academy, the clinics saw the participants learning basketball techniques and being put through a variety of training drills. .

NBA managing director Scott Levy said: “The most important thing is that the kids have fun and come away understanding that it’s fun to sweat, and maybe learn some basketball skills, and want to continue to live active lifestyles.”

ActiveSG Basketball Academy principal Neo Beng Siang agreed. "We hope that through the Jr. NBA programme as well as our ActiveSG Basketball Academy programmes, we can encourage more children to enjoy sport and specifically to learn and love basketball.

"There are many parents here with us today and we hope that the parents will also be able to see the benefits of sport for their child and to get them to continue to stay active.”

This is the second edition of the programme, with the inaugural programme last year attracting over 3,000 participants. While registration for the open clinics have closed, parents can still sign up their child for the free 6-week Regional Training Programme (RTP) in July.

Open to boys and girls aged 5-14, the RTP will be conducted once a week and is designed to teach youths how to play basketball and improve their skills.

The top 200 boys and girls aged 10-14 will then have be selected to participate in a National Training Camp held in August, which will be led by a current or former NBA superstar.

The training camp will then culminate with the selection of eight boys and eight girls to the Jr. NBA Singapore All-Star team, who will then fly to Shanghai to watch reigning NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors play in a pre-season match.