New Developments for New Season (From The Northern Echo)

New Developments for New Season

5:10pm Monday 27th October 2008 in

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Basketball in association with Game Time & Decorative Concrete Solutions

The new basketball season is ready to burst into life once again with more competitive action in the area than ever before.

There are two new leagues which have been developed by Game Time following the success of the Tees Schools League last season. A new College League has been established with an incredible 10 local colleges participating. The response surpassed the expectations of Game Time and proves the popularity and demand for basketball in the area. “We always knew the College League would be great for the students, colleges and the area and we had close links with 6 centres but to have near enough every college in the area join the league is fantastic” added James Thomson, head of Game Time.

There has never been an area college basketball league and although most colleges had interested players, there were never the competitive games to aim toward unless you were part of the British Colleges. The new league has led to a determined approach from individual colleges to develop their basketball programmes which in turn is securing coaching positions around the area with the likes of George Kiriakou, Lorna Connor and Rob Bryson just a few high profile names to take on head coaching roles at their respective centres.

The value of the league is also appreciated by the College Enrichment officers with Dave Johnson of Prior Pursglove College adding “Game Time and Prior are now into the 2nd year of partnership, after a very successful opening year. Previous to this, college Basketball was very limited in regards to training and fixtures. Now James has come along and put in place excellent training sessions and coaching opportunities, both of which are well attended and enjoyed by the students. Now with the set up of the new College league, students can look forward to more regular fixtures against different college from around the area.”

Also in development is a new Special Schools League with 8 teams taking part from 4 centres including Kilton Thorpe, Kirkleatham Hall, Beverley and Abbey Hill. The schools have been enjoying an annual tournament for the past 3 years and the only problem was it just wasn’t enough. Now the students can look forward to a number of fixtures as well as regular coverage on the Game Time site and local press. Carolyn Rylander, SSCO for Redcar & Cleveland said “Basketball events by Game Time have been hugely successful in previous years, especially with the efforts they make in promoting and reporting the events. There is a special buzz around the whole school as an event nears.” said Carolyn.

If you would like further information about the new leagues contact Game Time on 01642 814221 or visit www.game-time.co.uk Tees Schools League Game Time received recognition and appraisal up and down the country for their Tees Schools League with members of the England Basketball and England Schools Basketball regarding the league as not only one of the best basketball leagues but one of the best school sports leagues. The main focus was to raise the profile of basketball by providing a professionally run league which was constantly updated via the Game Time website and given unprecedented press coverage. The result was amazing with a high profile finals event at Eston Sports Academy, home of Middlesbrough Lions and a plush awards ceremony with over 200 people in attendance at the Thistle Hotel in Middlesbrough. James Thomson went on to add “Towards the end of last season, students were making basketball their priority sport due to the recognition and publicity they were receiving for their achievements.”

This year a number of changes have been made to further improve the league with a new structure of U16, U14 & U12 leagues for boys and U16 & U14 leagues for girls. This effectively combines year groups but more importantly reduces the workload for teachers and coaches. The result should see more players at training sessions and schools able to enter teams into all categories to produce a conveyor belt of development. Head Coach of Nunthorpe Lions, Darren Bunn added “Basketball is a priority sport for us now. We have massive interest both in players and support. We took over 60 people to the finals event to cheer on the teams and we hope to be there at the end of this season with even more.”

There are new schools involved with Freebrough Flyers, Acklam Grange and Huntcliff entering for the first time with additional schools also interested. There are currently 73 teams involved in the Tees Schools League.

Three of the best performing schools in Manor Heat, Blakeston Bulls and Nunthorpe Lions have entered the National Schools League with Game Time and the rest of the schools wishing them every success in representing the area.

Any players interested in basketball who are currently not involved can seek advice from Game Time on where to play, local clubs and also the National League outfit for U15’s Middlesbrough Lions. The Lions currently have a number of players from various schools representing the area including Blakeston, Grangefield, Nunthorpe, Freebrough, Rye Hills, Newlands, Stokesley, Macmillan and Hurworth in Darlington. The Lions U15 outfit provides a great tool to place young players onto the big stage and also reward their schools with recognition for their development of these players. “We have established a solid network between the schools and players can now be recommended to us by teachers to attend the National League training sessions. Not only is this an honour for the players and schools but it also ensures that these individuals receive more advanced training which is an even bigger bonus for their school teams.” added James.