You know you live in Africa when... III

As promised...

You know you live in Africa when...

... the lunch vendors at your office are women carrying tubs of corn on their heads.

... as you are checking out at the grocery store, the guy buying cigarettes at the counter is shirtless, wearing only a fur skirt and headpiece.

(this one I stole from Tim)
... as you are driving to a work meeting, someone casually points to the local community, "Oh yeah, they're at war".

... you see hippos and crocodiles on the weekend booze cruise...

... no big deal...
... ok, so maybe it wasn't a booze cruise...
... and maybe it was an educational boat tour offered by the local park service...
... and maybe we were the obnoxious Americans who decided to turn it into our version of a booze cruise...
... the most educational booze cruise you have ever taken, thank you very much.

Little Mountain town of Kangra soaks in basketball culture

Think Kangra. Think a quiet mountain town in Himachal Pradesh. Think hilly terrain, twisty-turny Himalayan roads, and cold weather. Think temples. Think a few kilometers away from Dharamsala, picturesque tourist destination and the centre of the Tibetan Government-in-exile. Think a little further from Mcleodganj, the home of the Dalai Lama's monastery and a mini hippie-paradise.

Well, if that's all you think when you think Kangra, you need to think again.

For the last week of September, this little Himalayan town has temporarily become the focal point of basketball in India. The Himachal Pradesh Basketball Association (HPBA) is hosting the IMG-Reliance 37th National Sub-Junior Basketball Championships here, from September 24-31. For one week, the three main courts in town have been invaded by fierce young basketball players from all corners of the country – Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerela, Karnataka, Goa, Rajasthan, and many more including the hosts Himachal Pradesh.

"There has always been a craze for basketball up here in Kangra," said Munish Sharma, thePresident of the HPBA, "Even though it's a small town, hundreds of youngsters go out and play the game in our courts every day, practicing hard in the mornings and the evenings. Basketball is a very popular sport here, and apart from the three main courts being used for this competition, we have a few more smaller ones."

Just how popular is basketball here? Well, his opinion may be slightly biased, but 13-year-old Nitin Mehra, a local boy who also played for the Himachal Pradesh Sub-Junior squad, said that most kids are seen playing either football or basketball in Kangra. Cricket comes in third place.

"I first got introduced to basketball through my older sister," said Nitin, "For the past three years, I've been coming out regularly and playing. The games are very competitive here."

There has been an electric atmosphere around town ever since the Sub-Junior nationals tipped off here. The scenes around the man Municipal Corporation Basketball Court are surreal: intense basketball games, cheering crowds, and rap/bhangra music blaring out the speakers, amongst the surroundings of an otherwise sleepy mountain town.

But perhaps the most surreal thing is the confidence in the young players – many of them are playing in this sort of competition for the first time, but seem to show no sign of being unhinged by the stage. "I have been playing basketball for five years now," said Chahana Suresh, the captain of the Karnataka girls' team, hours before the team's Quarter-Final match-up against Maharashtra. "We have a much stronger team this time around than last year, and we are confident that we can win the tournament this time around."

Suresh added that the best team in the Girls' section was Chhattisgarh, but her squad was ready to face them, too. "We will beat them by defence – that is our strength," Suresh added, "Defence is the best offence!"

In the Boys' section, the team from Chhattisgarh have emerged as one of the strongest as well, and their captain Tarendra Kr. Yadav feels that few teams will be able to come in their way to the title. "We will play Madhya Pradesh first, and then Rajasthan, who are probably the best boys' team," said Yadav, "But we are confident we will beat them – we have a good team full of talented sharp-shooters."

Another encouraging scene in this year's tournament has been that several parents (and grandparents) have accompanied their children up to Kangra to watch them play and learn the game themselves. "This is my first introduction to basketball and I'm beginning to enjoy it a lot!" said Dr. Meenakshi Dhar, mother of Kerala player Aniruth, "This is the first time my son is representing the state, and we are going to continue to support him discover his talents as much as possible."

Aniruth has quite a support-squad with him: his grandfather Balbir Singh Yadav has also come up from Delhi to watch the youngster perform.

Aniruth said: "These games are very intense – our team didn't know as well as I expected, but we will work on improving our performance in the future."

Similarly, another parent, Dorothy Gomindes, came with her son and her son's team all the way from Goa for the tournament. "This has been a very well organised event," Gomindes said, "We have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in Kangra."

Back to the basketball courts – the cheering crowds have been showing up regularly to support their favourite teams, or just be witness to some exciting basketball. After all, the finest future Indian hoop stars are sure to emerge out of these talented young players.

There has been a great response by the locals to the tournament, believes HPBA President Sharma, and he is hoping that this spirit will continue. "We have done well with the organisation, but we want to improve," Sharma said, "We are hoping to renovate the Municipal Corporation court and make a more stadium-like structure to provide comfort to the attending audience. We also have hopes to be able to construct an indoor court here in Kangra."

When it comes to hoops, the future seems bright for this little town. Think Kangra. Think Basketball.

Heritage Day!

So today was another day of site visits, meaning many hours driving, in car dance parties to Zulu house music, flat tire, lessons on Zulu culture by the all knowing matriarchs, Gugu and Thuli (or at least they thinks so ;)), and breathtaking views of the hilly countryside.  I wish I had the opportunity to take pictures, but we were ON THE MOVE.  It was funny how I was, mouth gaping open, "This is beautiful!", and my co-passengers were just like "Oh, yeah, yeah, very nice.", like this was no big deal cause this is just their norm.  Lucky bastards!  Highlight of the day: everyone in the car being thoroughly impressed with my ability to keep a beat.  "You actually have rhythm!"  What what!  Take that!  Fly like a G6!  And then of course I went and made big promises, "Just wait till you see me dance..."  Should be entertaining when they ask me to deliver. :)

But, as promised: Heritage Day!  Heritage Day has its roots in our part of the country, KwaZulu-Natal.  It was originally called Shaka Day, in commemoration of a Zulu King, Shaka, who was famous for uniting the Zulus into one nation.  Now, to be more inclusive of all the other cultures represented in South Africa, it is known as Heritage Day and encourages everybody to celebrate their own cultural beliefs and traditions and in doing so celebrate the diversity of the country, living up to the title "Rainbow Nation".  Sooooo... what does Mpilonhle do?

Oh yeah... We dress up as Bangladeshis/Indians!  Does this make sense?  I'm not quite sure...  South Africa does have a decent sized Indian population, another piece of history worth delving into later.  But, I don't think any of them work for us... Oh wait, except for that IT guy down in Durban (yes, sadly very stereotypical).  And the clothes are actually from Bangladesh... being as that's where Mike and Christine (Mike's wife) lived for a long time.  Basically, what it came down to was that these were the best thing anybody could come up with.  A+ for effort team!  :)  Thank God for Gugu and a couple of the other ladies for representing the Zulus.  Ah yes and that's Tim!  Eat it up!  The first real picture of Tim the Roommate!  I did get his permission to have this awesome picture be the first one up on my blog creating first impressions.

Ah and that's Thokozani in the bottom picture with Tim and me.  Quick update on TK: I got the chance to show him and his wife the blog, includingthe post about them.  They were very entertained and liked it very much.  This actually was very relieving because I felt a little odd talking about their lives so openly, especially as I consider them friends.  But, they really enjoyed it.  First, Thokozani corrected the spelling of his name (hence the added h), and then they were impressed by my memory of the dialogue, but both agreed it was very accurate.  Now they ask about the blog all the time.  They also said I could continue talking about them at will, so the saga will continue.  I've also gotten the chance to get to know Gugu, his wife, a lot better.  And I've realized she is the perfect Zulu woman: let's her man THINK he's in charge, but she is really the one wearing the pants.  Oh wait, I think that's a perfect woman in any culture...

10 Questions - NBA 2010-11

Despite the fact that the NBA off-season was one of the most intriguing in recent memory, it has still seemed long, barren, and never-ending. Mid-June till the end of October? That's a long time, especially for someone as impatient and NBA-spoilt as I am. So what if the off-season chatter included the cementing of Kobe Bryant's legacy, the NBA draft, the LeBron James Decision and the coup over at Miami, the coming of Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, and the NBA trophy to India, Carmelo Anthony's indecisiveness, and a dozen other plotlines? I still want more!

But here we are now. Less than a month away from the beginning of the 2010-11 NBA season (about 28 days, 7 hours according to the countdown on nba.com). As a matter of fact, the totally inconsequential yet still mildly interesting NBA Pre-Season is set to begin October 3, when my New York Knicks head to Italy to play Olimpia Milano.

Yes, in case you were wondering, I am more excited about a meaningless pre-season game between a weak NBA team and a random European squad than I am for the other thing that will be starting in my own backyard back home in Delhi. I can't remember what it is - people keep on calling it some 'Games' but all I hear about is dirty toilets, expensive treadmills, and infectious mosquitoes.

Anyways, back to the point - Yes, the season is creeping up - and I have many (many) things to get off my chest. So here are the 10 most important open questions I have about the upcoming season. Anyone got the answers?

1. What can we expect from the John Wall - Gilbert Arenas backcourt in Washington?
Believe me, this question is a lot more important than the layman may believe it to be.
First you have Gilbert "Hibachi" Arenas, the NBA's former most intriguing and interesting player who's also gifted with a crate-full of talent and an even bigger crate of crazy. Now, you take this crazy-talented player, suspend him for most of a season for bringing his guns to the arena, and then you bring him back amidst trade rumours. He returns looking serious and motivated and he has a new beard, and he's boasting the same kind of motivation that propelled him to superstardom earlier in his career.
Then you pair this player along with the first pick of the NBA draft, John Wall, a player who plays essentially the same position as Arenas. A player who is being already lauded for his explosiveness and his other-worldly talents, someone who is already a favourite for being the Rookie of the Year and a future superstar.
And then you put both of them together. Boom!

Where the hell will Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul start (and end) the season?
Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul have seen their pals LeBron, Wade, and Bosh take the party and the hype down to Miami, making the greatest three-some since the Musketeers. Anthony, whose contract expires at the end of this season, will reportedly not re-sign with the Nuggets. Nuggets have been trying feverishly to get some return for his talents now and not get short-changed like the Cavs or the Raptors did. The situation is complicated: The Nuggets want Anthony to stay, but can't keep him; Anthony wants to go to the Knicks, who can't have him; The Nets want Anthony, but he doesn't want to go there. Add a couple of mean father-in-laws and some song-and-dance routines around the park and you have yourself an NBA Bollywood blockbuster.
Oh, ya, and Chris Paul, too, who complained a desire to leave earlier to his team, but then changed his time and was suddenly excited about the Hornets again. Yeah, right.

3. Which young team will get over the hump?
I already know which young teams I'm thinking about when I ask myself this question.
Over in the East you have the Bucks, an exciting young squad that showed considerable improvement last season, and were one win away from making it to the second round of the playoffs. The Bucks are led by talented big man Andrew Bogut (who actually missed the playoffs) and are supported by Brandon Jennings, one of the most potent young men in the league. Along with the likes of Carlos Delfino and Ersan Ilyasova (both who performed wonderfully at the FIBA World Championships), Corey Maggette, John Salmons, and the potential return of sharp-shooter Michael Redd, the Bucks have a good team which could turn some heads this year.
And then there is everybody's new "second-favourite" team - the Oklahama City Thunder. The Thunder play an exciting brand of basketball, full of tough defence, sprints down the court, and sharp-shooting. They haven't really made much changes in the off-season, but a core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green, Nenad Kristic, James Harden, and Thabo Sefolosha, the Thunder will continue to be trouble. Don't be surprised if they emerge as the Lakers' biggest challengers to the Western Conference crown.

4. Can Yao Ming dominate again?
I feel sad for Yao Ming. He was once the man solely responsible for making China the basketball-mad crazy it is today (and concurrently, giving hope to India that the same can happen back home. Today, he is trying to recover from a career-threatening injury, and will only feature in limited minutes this season. That's okay, because Limited Yao is still better than No Yao. Here's hoping that the talented giant can dominate the game again.

5. Will anyone watch a Cleveland Cavaliers game?
So, one player left. Wasn't this one of the most popular teams in the league over the last two or three or seven years? What, no more Cleveland? Where have all the bandwagon fans gone?
On second thought, there is one game which will make the Cavs temporarily relevant again. You know, when a certain someone returns to his old Arena to be attacked by booing crowds, burning jerseys, and comically-angry fonts.

6. Which young star will finally live up to potential - Greg Oden, Michael Beasley, or Blake Griffin?
It's frustrating to watch the careers of these three players. Especially the first two.
Greg Oden (first pick of 2007 draft), Michael Beasley (second pick 2008 draft) and Blake Griffin (first pick 2009 draft) all came into the league with great expectations in quickly faded into relative obscurity in different ways.
Oden, who I shudder to call young, has had an injury-riddled career and has thus never been able to play and produce as much as expected. He still has "no timeline" for his return.
Beasley had a great opportunity to blossom next to Dwyane Wade in Miami, and he never did. Now, he has been shipped away to have a fresh start in Minnesota.
And Griffin, who is still technically a rookie since he missed all of last season, is finally healthy to take the court and dispel the Clipper Curse. Or flop and totally confirm it.

7. Will Shaq help an ageing Celtic squad achieve one last hurrah?
I love the way the Celtics have played their basketball ever since the epic Kevin Garnett trade three years ago. They won a championship that year, and two years later, were one game away from winning another one. Most importantly, they did it as a team, playing good defence and by sharing the ball.
But they are oh so old. Paul Pierce (33), Kevin Garnett (34), and Ray Allen (35) can only take them so far. They needed the young legs of Rajon Rondo and the defensive intensity of Kendrick Perkins last year.
This year, they hire a couple of more older guys, a couple of O'Neals, to help them out. Jermaine O' Neal (32) and the Big Leprachaun aka Shaquille O'Neal (38) are in Beantown. Can Shaq really gel with this Celtic squad? Will he make a difference? Will he completely destroy team chemistry? Or will he suddenly resurrect himself in the special atmosphere around the Celtics squad and make an important contribution, especially in the playoffs? I can't wait to find out.

8. Will Kevin Durant become the best player in the league?
I have little doubt about this. All the right signs are pointing in the way, and if I was a betting man, I would place my bets on Durant being the league MVP by the end of the season. Here is why:
- He was the leading scorer in the league last season, the youngest to be so (21), and he will only improve.
- He was the MVP of the FIBA World Championships.
- He is the best player in the Thunder, and will have ample opportunity to prove himself.
- His main competitors are either too old to dominate the regular season any more (Kobe Bryant), have gotten together to share their load (LeBron and Wade) or are a tad bit too inconsistent (Anthony and Dwight Howard).
- The Media likes him.

9. Will the Heat live up to the hype?
Public enemy told me not to believe it, but when you get LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh on the same squad, how can I not? Jeff van Gundy claims that this team will the Bulls' 72-10 season record, adding, "They will never lose two games in a row this year." Phil Jackson told everyone to calm down, saying that teamwork wins, not talent. Either way, this is the big story in the NBA, and all eyes will be on Miami to pull off a historically good season or a shockingly average one.

10. Will the Lakers three-peat again?
Lost in the midst of the Miami Hype was the fact that the reigning champs are the Los Angeles Lakers, who are still here, still consistent, still the team to beat. Lakers have won two in a row, and their core of Coach Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Ron Artest, and Andrew Bynum will return for another shot at the title. It might be Jackson's last season, and the man who has won an incredible THREE THREE-PEATS (wowaweewah!) will be looking for his fourth and his 12th ring as coach.
Not much I can say about Kobe's drive to win that hasn't already been said. No matter how he starts, you know he'll be there at the end, taking the most crucial shots in the most crucial games.
And India-visitor Pau Gasol, who has had a rested summer, will be back to continue building up his legacy.
Lakers have made a couple of important additions too - Steve Black, Matt Barnes, and Theo Ratliff have beefed up their bench.
This is still the best team in the league. Will they win again?

Amanzi=Water

 Today was a lot of driving!  Ish! (That is the Zulu equivalent of the Yiddish Yeesh! or the classic American Geez!  And I have wholeheartedly adopted it as my own)  We were doing site visits for the OneSite clinics to make sure that the locations the DOH had arranged met the criteria and had the necessities, including space, electricity, water, sanitation, etc.  In classic public health style it was over a two hour drive each way for a ten minute scouting trip around the grounds.  Totally efficient and productive.  Right...  Whatever, though it wasn't riveting or anything, it was nice to get out of the office and see another part of the area.  Gugu, who runs health education and has an incredible, huge smile and personality to match, insisted that on the way back that we stop at the local dam and take a picture, humoring the tourist in me.  Thanks Gugu!  Great photos!

Btw, that's Thuli and our faithful driver Bheki checking out the edge with me.  It was really beautiful and definitely a different part of the country up in the hills compared to our little flat and dry Mtubatuba.  The crazy part is that here we are looking at all this water so close to our home, and our town is in a major water crisis right now.  Some of the villages have been without water for weeks.  Apparently this water though is heading for Zambia, a landlocked country north of us.  Hmmm... there seems to be some failed logic here...

Ok, I know that's a less than exciting post, but I HAD to put these pictures up because the whole team took the time out to pull over and make something that is part of their everyday special for me.  What awesome friends!

And it's a nice change of pace from all that jargon and serious talk of yesterday's post, just pretty things to look at. :)  Tomorrow I will start living up to my promises of things to come.  I think I will start with the awesome hilarity of Heritage Day!  Wooo!  Get excited!

WARNING: Public Health Shop Talk (aka what I'm actually doing)- may be super boring...

So, had a lovely three day weekend for Heritage Day on Friday, which involved dressing up, of course.  Pictures to come.  Promise.  But I must say, I looked damn good... and that alone should be enough incentive to keep you reading this blog. :)  Anyway, this weekend was nice and gave Tim and I some opportunities to explore the area, make a new friend with a local Peace Corps volunteer, and enjoy some quality pool time, many of these experiences leading to some pretty classic "You know you live in Africa when..." experiences, which will for sure be posted in the next couple days.  Another promise of things to come to keep you reading... :)  But, today I wanted to take the opportunity to talk a little about the specifics about what I am actually doing here, because I realized I haven't really done a whole lot of that; rather more explaining about the organization, the living situation, the culture, telling entertaining stories and anecdotes, etc, etc.  I realized I had actually explained more about what mysterious Tim the Roommate does than what I do (and yet again, another ploy to keep your attention, there is still so much to learn about mysterious Tim!)  Ok, so here goes...

The first week was mainly spent getting a better sense of the organization, how it's grown in the last two years, the directions we are moving in now and, of course, where I fit into all of this.  This involved everything from going out into the field to experience all branches of our efforts, from IT training to soccer camps (which inspired a few stories seen here in the blog), to sitting in on management meetings and reading grants (less riveting, less to blog about, but learning a whole hell of a lot).  This side of things included major preparation for a grant review and fights with PEPFAR yet again on contract technicalities (like exchange rates) that are the difference between being able to pay the staff or not.  And in all honestly, this is the side of things that brought me back to this organization.  Two years ago, I got a small taste of what Mike (more or less my boss who is the head of Mpilonhle and an American trained pediatrician with a fellowship in ID) does day to day, and it's not medicine.  It mainly consisted/consists of him sitting in his office on his computer, on his phone, writing and rewriting grant proposals and reviews, fighting on the phone for purchase approvals and promised money from grant contractors.  And my first instict was "I don't wanna do that.  I am not becoming a doctor to do that."  But, then I realized, "Well, I better at least learn about it.  Cause if I'm not going to be doing it, I am going to be working for someone who is going to be doing it and I should at least understand it.  And who knows?  Maybe some day I will have the balls to start my own organization".  So I decided to learn from the best.  Mike has been doing this type of work since he finished his fellowship, so about thirty years, starting in Bangladesh.  And he does what few NGO's are ever able to accomplish, run an efficient and effective organization that is sustainable.  That is a global health dream.  And the even cooler part is that I had the opportunity to get in on the ground floor (the organization was less than a year old when I first worked here two years ago) and see how you build such a beast.  So, basically, I sit in on these meetings/read this documentation and be like, "I don't think I could ever do this... but, God am I gonna try and soak up as much as possible".  It is truly over my head.  But, I also know it is an essential component to this world that I want to make my life.

Okay, so a lot of background, but the second week, aka last week, I got started on some of the projects that they felt best fit my medical student expertise. :)  Most of this involved taking some of the workload off of Thuli, the head nurse here, aka the lady who runs all the healthcare aspects of the organization.  First and foremost, I love Thuli.  We became fast friends the last time I worked here.  She is crazy smart, on top of her game, and super fun to be around.  She also really respects me and my role here.  We talk medicine, which is always fun, and since day one she has been helping me set up opportunities to broaden my medical experience here.  She always says that while she loves dumping her work on me, she wants me to get the whole healthcare experience here.  "That's why you came, yeah?"  This includes her setting up potential shadowing/volunteering in clinics and/or hospitals and taking me along to things that she thinks would interest me, even if they have nothing to do with an assignment of mine.  Basically, she's the best.

And that was more background, yeesh!  So, things I did last week included:
- writing a standard operating procedure for TB screening of employees, which entailed reading South African DOH, CDC, and WHO guidelines, and putting together a puzzle that meets everybody's criteria and standards to some degree
- starting to develop policies for quality control of our nurses, including a combination of chart review, observed interview and procedural skills (and you best believe I'm gonna be using some POM templates for the interview skills business...  thank you Mintzy!)
- reviewing the existing material for our digital healthcare database and building the team that can hopefully mobilize this thing
- editing the Memorandum of Understanding with the local DOH that agrees upon our role in the community, services we provide, and how they will help support us
Those are some of the smaller projects that were more thrown in my lap because they needed to get done stat for grant review, etc.  I feel like I have a decent grasp on these things now and it felt good to do something quick and productive that was helpful for the organization, some instant gratification to earn my keep.  And then there are two bigger projects I have been brought in on which I am super excited about:

1. OneSight- this is an NGO that provides eye health and glasses to populations in need.  We are setting up all the groundwork on our end and then they come in with their 40 person team and run clinics with us for 2 weeks.  On our end, we get to offer health education, counselling and testing to huge populations that come motivated by the possibility of cool new glasses!  No, we are not above a bribe to convince people to become educated and get tested for HIV.  This involves working closely with not only this other NGO, but also the DOH here.  It is a cool project for me because I've had the opportunity to be on the other end of things, part of the team who gets to waltz in, benefit from all the setup, and do some amazing work.  Now, I am getting to see all the work that goes on behind the scenes and gain a major appreciation for the logistics of an operation like this and the people that make it happen.  So thank you to all my support staff in the past, from Guatemala to Haiti, you were all amazing!

2. Grant for sexual reproductive health and rights- SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST!  THIS is my baby, THIS is the thing I am MOST excited about.  It's in its very first stages, which is scary and exciting.  It means I get to be involved from stage one, but also means a lot to do.  At this point, we have the grant, which is awesome, now we just gotta do something with it.   Our basic goal is to create adolescent pregnancy awareness through school based interventions.  This includes:
- health education with a focus on pregnancy, contraceptives, and pregnancy options
- offering and providing contraceptives
- developing a support system for pregnant students and mothers for both physical and mental health, which will involve training and assigning mentors and advocates, including nurses, social workers, school employees, and peers
Through these means we hope to reduce the rate of pregnancy, create a supportive environment to make choices for those who do become pregnant, and provide the resources they need to make a safe choice, including being able to finish high school.  Aka, this project is my dream!  I can't tell you how stoked I am on this!  We are working with a pediatrician from UMass who seems awesome and I'm really excited to work with her.  I'm a little nervous about getting too hyped up and attached to this project (and as you can see from above, that effort has been pretty futile) because you never know how things will go in the global health world, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed believing this could be incredibly awesome.

Anyway, I'm sure I will keep you posted on all of these projects.  If any of them struck a chord or inspired you, I would love to hear some ideas/feedback.  I'm all ears!

FIBA World Championship for Women tips off in Czech Republic

Following the success of the FIBA World Championship for Men last month, attention turns to the Czech Republic, where the best women basketball players in the world have gathered for the FIBA World Championship for Women, set to be held from September 23 – October 3 in the cities of Karlovy Vary, Ostrava and Brno.

The tournament will feature current women’s World Champions Australia, Olympic basketball champions USA, and hosts Czech Republic. Other participating nations are: Senegal, Mali, China, Japan, Korea, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Russia, Spain, Belarus, and Greece.

Indian referee Snehal Bendke has been nominated to participate as one of the officials at this event.

Sub-Junior National Championships tip-off on Friday

The season of National Championships has returned! The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) will be organising the 37th All India National Championship for Sub-Junior Boys and Girls in the picturesque town of Kangra in Himachal Pradesh from the 24th-31st of September. Hosted by the town’s Municipal Corporation Basketball Courts, the championship will feature the youngest members of India’s basketball family.

This will be in invaluable opportunity for the best sub-juniors in the country to showcase their skills. The preliminary group games will take place over the first few days, before the tournament will move on to the knockout stage from September 27th. The Final is slated to be held on Thursday, September 30th.

Only players born on or after January 1st, 1997 are eligible to participate in this competition. The age verification of all the players will be done by the Age Verification Committee/Medical board on Thursday, September 23, one day prior to the beginning of the tournament. The Technical Commission will also conduct the Referees’ Clinic on Thursday at the venue.

Tokozani aka TK

Meet Tokozani, aka TK.  He is kinda like Tim's boss, running the Grassroot Soccer program for Mpilonhle.  Yes, another vague and distant reference to Tim the Roommate, but again, more about him later.  First and foremost, TK is awesome!  He is one of the people I am closest with here.  He is very kind and warm and always makes sure Tim and I feel included, which I cannot tell you how much I appreciate.

Ok, first question:  How old is Tokozani?  Take a wild guess...

Hm?  What is that you say?...  Nope! Thirty freaking five!  They do not age!  They look fantastic!  And their skin... absolutely beautiful.  I'm so jealous.

Anyways, so next, you admire Tokozani's wedding band.  How lovely.  You wonder what his wife's like.

Then TK asks: "So do you have any kids?"
Me: "Well, no.   I probably wouldn't be here if I did, or they would be with me."
TK: "Ah yes, that makes sense.  Interesting." (Aka I should of had kids already)
Me: "And you? Do you have any kids?"
TK: "Yes. Five."
Me: "Oooooh! Damn! That's a lot of little munchkins running around.  How old are they?"
TK: "The youngest is six, and the eldest is thirteen."
Me: "How many boys and how many girls?"
TK: "One girl, four boys."
Me: "Ooooooh damn again!  Four boys?! They must be crazy and running around and causing all sorts of trouble, no?"
TK: "Haha.  Yes.  It is my strong seed.  I brought four boys into the world to carry on the family name.  My family was dying out, only two boys in my generation, so I made four.  You ask and I deliver."
Me: "Hot damn! And where does the girl fit into all of this?"
TK: "She is the eldest, thirteen."
Me: "Ah, okay, so one girl, and then string of boys. So, wait..." (This is where I'm calculating if he's 35, and his oldest is 13, then... and my social faux pas begins) "... when did you get married, how old were you?"
TK: 31.
Me: "31? So..." (Again I'm calculating, realizing this means none of his children have been born since his marriage) "...did you have your children with your wife before you were married?" (Clearly I'm a little confused.  Why this isn't clicking for me, I'm not sure)
TK: "Haha. Nonononono.  The first two with one woman, than two with another woman, and then the last one with another woman."
Me: (Nodding like 'that sounds reasonable') "Ok... So is the last one with your wife?"
TK: "Ha. No. No kids with my wife. Yet." (Grins)
Me: "Are you planning on having more kids? Do you want more kids?"
TK: "Yes, we want one more." (Smiling) "Everyday I wake up and wonder, is this the day? Is this the day that I make it happen, that I deliver?  Only God knows." (Still grinning, and looking at me as if to say, yeah, that's right, I have sex everyday with my wife, and- if I'm translating this right- it's often wake up sex.  We laugh together as if to say- Way to go TK!)
Me: "Ha. Nice! So do they all live with you? That's a lot of people in one house..."
TK: "No. Only the girl.  The boys live in town close to their school."
Me: "So when do you see them?"
TK: "On the weekends mainly."
Me: "Ah, okay. And do they see their moms?"
TK: "Yes, yes.  I think it is importnat for them to know their mothers as their mothers, and not just my wife."
Me: "So your wife, she helps take care of all of them?  Acts kinda of like a mom?"
TK: "Yes, yes, but I want her to have one of her own, you know?  To really be a mother, not just helping, one that is hers."
Me: "Ah, yes, that is nice. I think that is a good idea.  You are a nice husband for considering her like that.  That's very sensitive."
TK: "Well, yes.  Could you do me a favor and tell her that? I think she needs to hear it from a woman."
Me: "Tell her what?"
TK: "That we should have a baby." (Grinning)
Me: "Wait, does SHE want to have a baby?"
TK: "Yeah, yeah, she is unsure, but I think we should have a baby." (Ah, the truth comes out...)
Me: "Haha, well, TK, I love you, but it's her choice to have a baby cause she's the one that has to have it!"
TK: "Meh" (Giving me a face all while smiling)

And scene!

I will go more into all the Zulu culture and dynamics that puts this into perspective as the year continues.  And honestly, I'm still in the process of learning/trying to understand a lot of it.  But the general gist is that this is pretty much the norm.  Men with multiple children with multiple women.  And it's not like "don't hate the playa', hate the game..", it's everybody.  Like TK is an up and coming guy in his community, very well respected, and him having all these kids with all these women doesn't affect how people perceive him, it's just plain normal.  Doesn't matter who you are.  Aka it doesn't make you a pimp or a player or a mac daddy or a sleaze ball or a whore or any other spin you want to put on it.  It's just no big deal.  I do have to say that it doesn't work quite the same for women.  They lose some of their "value" after having a child, but it's also considered very normal for them to have multiple children with multiple men out of wedlock.  Like most of our female staff have children, and most of them are not married, but, on the other side, to counter TK, his wife has no children, with or without him.

Tokozani is considered an anomaly because he did eventually get married.  A major barrier to getting married is the bride price or the lobolo, which is honestly unaffordable for many men.  So this leads to them having many partners throughout their lives.  And there it is, a very norm part of their culture is a very major risk factor for HIV.  These sort of associations are not uncommon here and the challenges  we face fighting this disease become clearer as I understand the culture more.

Again, I am still learning all of this stuff myself and am just trying to get a grasp on it, but this is the sense I get thus far.  I will definitely talk more about the lobolo.  I have already started a recon mission about it involving talking to the ladies to get their side of things.  I have to send Tim in to get more of the guys side of the story.

And as for TK, I did meet his lovely wife, Gugu.  Seriously, I adore her.  She is the sweetest woman alive and I want her to adopt me.  And we did a little marriage counselling in their living room.  TK informed her that I had something to tell her, to which  I told her "TK had wanted me to tell you that he wants a baby.  One more.  With you."  And then we talked it out, for like 20 seconds, with me being like "But YOU are the one having the baby, so it's YOUR choice" and she being like "Ooooooh!" and giving me this look like, 'Oh girl, you must be crazy if you think that's how things work around here...'.  And then she said "Ah yes, I think a baby could be very nice."  And all I could do was smile and tell her I would be around for the delivery if she got pregnant in the next month or so.  I have no idea what goes on behind closed doors or her true feelings about having a baby, but it gave me a taste, a sense of how things worked.  And I will be sure to let you know if and when Gugu is expecting. 

The Purple Room, live from Ludhiana

Over the last month, fierce Toronto Raptors fan, the author of the Raptors Game Time blog, and the face behind the Inside the Purple Room videos Payal Doshi was in India to see sights and catch flights. In the midst of it all, the Indian-origin Canadian also got a chance to witness some of the games at the Mahindra-NBA Challenge in Ludhiana.

A voice-data operator for a Canadian sports channel, Payal has literally brought home her love for the Raptors, and then broadcasted it all over the world. Her "Inside the Purple Room" videos, featuring colourful analysis of Raptors-related stories, have been hitting YouTube from her own room at home, customised to the colours of her favourite team.

Now, Payal hopes to join the growing numbers of young people hoping to give back to basketball in India in her own way. In the future, Payal and her associates are also hoping to launch a basketball website for Indian players, in Canada, and worldwide.

"My first experience with basketball in India was a few years ago," said Payal, "I got the chance to visit a camp held by Baron Davis in Mumbai. As I see now, most Indian youth are still in the beginning stages of understanding the game - what they need is a lot of practice, teaching, good coaches, and need to absorb all information and tips that are passed on their way."

She added: "I am a big fan of what the NBA is trying to do for the game of basketball globally. And with the Mahindra-NBA Challenge, Indian kids are being given a great chance to enhance their involvement in the sport. Basketball is fun, exciting, and inexpensive - find a backboard and you're set!"

Additional to her blog and videos, Payal is also working on her own web-show, entitled Always Looking Up In A Short Girl's World, where she is hoping to focus on the more unknown and underrated basketball talents, and on their journeys in the game.

The city of Toronto itself has many of inner-city basketball leagues, many of the leagues created for the large number of Indian-origin basketball players. Payal has had the chance to follow the careers of the Giant Bhullar Brothers, the seven-footed teenage children of Punjabi parents from near-Toronto, who are set to light the basketball world on fire.

"Both the brothers are currently in High School in the US," Payal said, "Right now, they're popular, but not yet famous. If they keep doing what they are doing, then the sky will the limit for them. They can be a dominant force in basketball."

Payal interacted with several young players at the NBA Challenge in Ludhiana, and was happy to note how excited they were to just play basketball. She will soon be doing a feature on her experiences watching the games and talking with the players, coaches, and organisers at the event.

For now, watch an episode of "Inside the Purple Room", as Payal discusses the (somewhat unfortunate) off-season suffered by the Raptors.

Rules of night driving

This was my evening.  Post work Tim and the boys from work went to practice/play soccer and I tagged along and decided to run laps, in part because Tim is my personal chauffeur, so wherever he goes, I go.  And yes, you think, running laps?  That sounds awful!  But when you are in the middle of Africa, with the sweet, burnt aroma of the sugar factory next door, a gorgeous sunset, and the sounds of happy Zulus playing soccer in the background, laps aren't so bad.

After running, I got a chance to take a few action shots:

Another pretty shot of the boys playing soccer as the sun sets

I know they are not spectacular, but they were taken with my iphone at dusk.  Though I did learn how to zoom on my iphone camera by the end of the evening.  Woo!  Oh!  And there's Tim!  In the bottom picture, a little left to middle, running, in the gray shirt drenched with sweat.  Hard to tell, but he's the only white guy out there.  And that's all you get of Tim.  Just a little taste to keep you guessing.  I like how I've created this mystery surrounding him.  Soon enough you will get to meet the man, the myth, the marvel, my roommate, Tim. :)

Being as the sun was set by the time they were done playing (those boys could of played forever! hence why I had time to take pics post run), I got to teach Tim the rules of driving at night in South Africa.
Rule 1. Windows up, doors locked
Rule 2. Never stop.  That means, do not abide by stop signs or stop lights (not that we have any of those in our town).  A good rolling stop is always appreciated, but always keep moving.  Carjackers hang out at stop signs and stop lights knowing these locations make drivers vulnerable, more or less like sitting ducks, and therefore the perfect opportunity to pounce.

It was a very "You know you live in Africa when..." moment. And so we made the ride home, with dim headlights and a new stick driver, down a bumpy dirt road, never coming to a complete stop.  Go team!

U18 team for FIBA Asia Championship for Men in Yemen

The Indian U18 men’s squad, set to represent the country in the 21st FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Men in Sana’a (Yemen), from September 22 – October 1, was recently finalised. The contingent of 12 players, accompanied by two coaches, a physiotherapist, and two FIBA referees, left for Yemen on Sunday, September 19th.

The Young Cagers will play their first game against Japan on September 22nd.

The full U18 squad is:

Rakesh Kumar Yadav
Shadab Khan
Bobby Singh
Rajan Sharma
Arjun Singh
Amjyot Singh
Sunny Raut
Jaskaran Singh Gill
Anant Singh
Dishant Vipul Shah
Ajay Pratap Singh
Berdinent Carmel Joseph Charles Patrick

Head Coach: Ram Kumar Gahlawat
Coach: Senthilselvan Ventriselvan
Physiotherapist: Nilesh Bharat Shah
FIBA Referee: Rajan Vellingirinathan
FIBA Referee: Sharad Vasant Bansode

The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) has also named two stand-by players for the competition: Kirti Goswami and Sukhjeet.

India is amongst the 16 teams in this tournament, qualifying in Group D along with Japan, Iraq, and hosts Yemen. The squad will try to improve its performance in this tournament from the last U18 FIBA Asia Championships which were held in Tehran (Iran) in 2008 – India only managed finish 13th in that competition.

The schedule for India’s first round games is (With Local time at Sana’a):

Sep 22 – 12:00: India vs. Japan
Sep 23 – 19:00: India vs. Yemen
Sep 24 – 09:00: Iraq vs. India

The top three teams from each group will move on to the second round stage from September 25-29th, before the Quarter and Semi-Finals. The finals of the tournament will be held on Friday, October 1st.

India showed a strong performance to qualify for this competition when the Middle Asia Zone Qualifying Round games were played in Bangalore from August 12-14th, as they went on to beat rivals Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka by an average of 39 points in each game.

Asani!

I'm despicably exhausted and quite sore from my run yesterday, so I'm gonna make this quick.  Thought I would continue with some of the Zulu lessons with some of the critical phrases I've learned:

Asani!- Let's go! -> I asked for this one cause I kept finding myself calling out "Vamanos!" and then realized Spanish wasn't really so applicable here.  Oops...

Once I seemed to get that down, they felt the next logical phrase for me was:

Balega!- Run! Run away! -> Thanks guys.  Always looking out for my safety!  I love how I'm like teach me how to say "Come on everybody! Let's go have some fun!" more or less and they are like ok, but then you have to learn how to say/understand "Danger!  Run for your life!".  Way to be positive.

But that's kind of been the trend here.  I feel more than safe, like a lot safer than a lot of other countries I've worked in, but apparently it is far from that.  I am basically not allowed to go anywhere by myself and people are constantly concerned about where I'm going, what I'm doing, and how I'm going about it.  Like the whole staff was so concerned about me sleeping in the guest house alone for the first week, even though we live behind a locked gate, have a guard patrolling at night, and a guard dog that sleeps outside my door.  I feel incredibly loved and cared for, but I can't help but look around and am unclear exactly where this danger lies.  But, I know it's real.  South Africa is the rape and murder capital of the world.  There is no questioning these statistics.  It's real, it happens.

I remember feeling this way the last time I was here as well.  A little perplexed about the almost paranoia about the safety here, but not willing to challenge the standard due to the severity of the potential consequences.  Like it's hard to believe it's that dangerous, but you end up being like, well, if you say so...  because it's not something you mess around with, in all honesty.  The risk is not worth it.  And as I said, it is real.  It's just not obvious in any sense, like I have felt/seen it in other countries.  I imagine it will become more real as I spend more time here, becoming a part of the community, and these statistics will literally be closer to home and touch me more personally.

For now, I have my own personal bodygaurd Tim, aka the roommate/car deliverer/soccer player/running partner. :) And we have Shrek, our loyal gaurd dog, and our bad ass ride to get us around safely and securely.  On that note, I think we have to name the car.  Thoughts?

Basketball helps young players realise their dreams

Last week, eight young India basketball players, blessed with good fortune and backed up with hard work, finally made their way to begin their education as student athletes at the IMG Basketball Academy in Bradenton, Florida (USA). The eight were chosen as part of a scholarship programme devised by IMG-Reliance to provide budding Indian athletes with an opportunity of a lifetime to reach their potential in sport.

Hundreds of talented young sub-juniors took part in a Sub-Junior national championship last year, and 50 of the best ones were nominated by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) to show up for IMG-Reliance's try-outs in New Delhi in August. Out of these, four boys and four girls were rewarded by being picked up as the representatives of basketball from India at the IMG Academy. This is no small achievement, because the Academy in Bradenton is considered to be the best multi-sport training facility in the world. The basketball academy itself has featured the likes of Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, Chauncey Billups, Joakim Noah, Kevin Martin, Jrue Holiday, Earl Clark, Kyryl Natyazhko (freshman at the University of Arizona), Dwight Powell (committed to Stanford), and others in the past.

They are from different parts of the country, and have very different backgrounds, but all eight of these youngsters have one thing in common: hard work. Most of them have revealed that even at a young age, it was their addiction to keep working on basketball that elevated them to the level they have reached today. Only between the ages of 13-14, these youngsters spend hours upon hours perfecting the game of basketball every day.

Ashiv Jain, who is from Bhopal, began playing basketball four years ago, when he was only 10. "I first started playing the game when I was in school. As I was blessed with good height, I was able to master it early, but I still need to practice for several hours every day."

The 'biggest' attraction amongst the chosen few, literally, is Satnam Singh Bhamara, the 14-year-old seven footer, son of a farmer from the small Ballo Ke village in Punjab. Satnam was recruited to start playing the game at age nine to Ludhiana, and he hasn't looked back. He is now one of the best junior players in the country and his height has already brought the international media home raving about him.

"I still have many aspects to improve in my game," says Satnam, "But right now, I believe that my post/pivot skills are the strongest aspect of my game."

Incredibly, the selection of eight features four youngsters from the state of Chhattisgarh two boys and two girls all of whom who have been trained at the academy in Billai. Dinesh Kumar Mishra, who is from the south-Chhattisgarh town of Jagdalpur said, "It feels good to get an opportunity like this in something I love to do, which is, playing basketball. I am yearning to get there and do really well!"

Kavita Akula, who is from Billai, was put on to the game of basketball through her aunt, who also used to play. Now, on the brink of this incredible opportunity, Kavita has plans to do more than just play. "I want to go there and improve my English," she says, "And of course, I want to see America!"

Pooja Ambashta , from Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh, is the tallest girl in the group. "I liked basketball straight away!" she claims, "I used to watch my seniors playing in Ambikapur and joined in. When I started to improve and get good results, I was recruited to train at the hostel in Billai. That has helped improve my game a lot more."

Chhattisgarh's fourth representative doesn't originally hail from the state Sanjeev Kumar was born in Patna, Bihar, but due to lack of facilities and opportunities around him, he went out to seek another avenue to develop his game. The answer for him came in Billai, where he has been for the last two years. Although short, Sanjeev is a quick and talented player, who says that he will be looking to improve his dribbling and jumping ability with the help of the basketball coaches in IMG.

Then there is Barkha Sonkar, the daughter of a humble mechanic from Varanasi, a town that has produced many Indian basketball talents in the past. Barkha will be taking a different route towards stardom than the rest. "I really like basketball," said the determined young point guard. "I saw my seniors play this game and I wanted to follow them."

Finally, the last representative in this group is New Delhi sensation Saumya Babbar. Saumya has been showcasing her skills in recent weeks at the IMG-Reliance School Basketball League in Delhi, but the Sachdeva Public School will have to make do without her now, as she heads across the ocean and towards the USA. "I have great ambitions," she stated, "I want to help basketball in India and take the Women's team to the highest level. I also want to play for the WNBA one day."

The youngsters already have a healthy habit of practice to start with. Whereas Barkha said that she practiced over six hours daily, the players from Chhattisgarh have been going through a rigorous training of eight hours every day. Satnam hasn't taken his size for granted either, saying that he has had days where he has spent up to 10 hours on the basketball court.

Their training will have a lot more discipline and organisation at IMG, as the expert coaches will be helping the kids through the right kinds of workouts, gym exercises, a variety of new drills, physiotherapy, as well as taking dietary precautions.

We are still four or five years away from fulfilling our dream of watching a professional basketball league unfold in India. But with the hard work put in by the youngsters in America as well as the training that their peers are going to continue back home, it seems that when the league is finally launched, there will be no shortage of explosive talents to propel Indian basketball into the bright future.

Our ride...

So the roomie is here!  More on him later...  The REALLY exciting part is: he brought a car!

What what!  This is our ride for the next year!  And we've already had some adventures in it, believe you me...  And I'm sure more to come.  Tim, oh yeah, that's my roommate, aka car deliverer, has a hard time getting the car to start.  We are unsure if this is because of the anti car jacking system (cause yeah they have that on all the cars here, gnarly... and not really sure how helpful it is) or the actual car itself.  Hmmm...  Only time will tell.  Oh and Tim learned how to drive stick about four days ago, about 48 hours before he had to drive across the entire country of South Africa alone.  Go Tim!  So always an adventure.  Oh and we also can't figure out how to open the  trunk.  No Tim!

So after grocery shopping, one of our first adventures was going to a camp Mpilonhle was running on Saturday.  A big part of the camp was our Grassroot Soccer arm of the organization, which is who Tim works for.  It's a cool concept that involves a lot of activity, combining sports and soccer concepts with HIV/AIDS education, which really draws the kids in.  We were also doing health education courses, health counseling and HIV testing.

This is where we do the health education, counselling, and testing.   We haul these units to the schools and set up usually in a field right behind.  The little rooms you can see the door open to is where we do the counseling and testing.  And then those placards you see opened up with the photos on them?  Well on the other side is white board material.  So when you open up all four between two units next to each other they create a nice little enclosed space that we use as a classroom for health education so we don't require any space from the school.   The units are amazing, totally custom done.  It's a pretty sweet set up.

And by the way, I'm using "we" in the sense of this organization I'm part of, cause I definitely don't do all the hard work mentioned above.  Yeah, like they let me drive those bad ass Land Rovers to haul the trailers down gnarly dirt roads.  Cause I'm that hardcore.  Nah, that is done by the awesome staff at Mpilonhle (like Bheki!) who I will continue to introduce you to and you will get to know.

But, the most memorable part of the day had to do with the Grassroot Soccer.  So part of the program involves what we in the US would call "icebreakers".  But, icebreakers are a little different here.  They involve clapping out rhythms, chanting beats and awesome dancing!  I mean it was awesome, for many reasons.  First, there is NO way you could of gotten a group of high schoolers in the US to participate in this stuff.  They would of been way too self conscious.  But for these kids, it's part of their culture.  And on that note, it is so natural for them!  They way they follow and pick up the beats and the chants and the moves!  Damn!  They got rhythm!  I mean honestly, it would take a group of white people two hours to get what they picked up in ten seconds.  And they are amazing!  Their dance moves are awesome, and their voices, wow.  Their voices are beautiful!

It was awesome when we had them playing soccer and the kids who were not on the field were cheering for their respective teams, which involves all of the above again, singing, dancing, and chanting, and they would just naturally harmonize.  It was unbelievable.  They would just pick up singing a song, no direction, and everybody knew their part, in perfect harmony.  And it wasn't like just one particular group of kids, like the dorky choir kids or whatever, it was all of them! And this is just their goofing around doing soccer cheers!  I literally was stuck there, mesmerized by the music, looking around, being like "Is anyone else hearing this? "  But, this is just their everyday, their norm.  Tim and my presence was the interesting and intriguing part of their day.  Geez, I wish I had made a video!  The whole time I was thinking of how I could share this experience with everybody else.  But, even with a video... I'm not sure it would translate.  There is something about standing in a soccer field at a high school in a Zulu village listening to these kids come together and make this beautiful music to cheer on their team.  I know it sounds corny, but it was a little surreal, like I felt like I was in a movie.  It was such a testament to how deep and rich their culture is.  Despite the parts I don't understand and find frustrating (more on that later...), it is a beautiful thing to be valued and respected.  There was definitely a moment of "I wish I had that".  I mean, the Jews are cool and all, but we def don't have that kind of rhythm.

It was an awesome but exhausting day, so having the day off today was nice.  Tim and I went for a run, which was... let's say... interesting.  It's hot here, and I'm out of shape in American terms, and I'm def out of shape in African terms.  But, I'm sure Tim will whip me into shape in no time.  Again, more on car deliverer-soccer player-runner boy later.  He's a nice guy, I promise. :)

"Practice hard so the games are easy" - Troy Justice at Coaches Clinic in Ludhiana

Ever since the NBA Mahindra Challenge began to hold its league in Ludhiana, the city's Guru Nanak Stadium hasn't had a calm weekend afternoon. Every Saturday and Sunday has seen hordes of teams from all around Punjab suit up to play in this exciting and competitive league.

But this Saturday was different. With exams in the air, most youth teams decided to take a break from the hoops, leaving the stadium eerily quiet. Well, mostly eerily quiet, because this was the day that NBA-India's Director of Basketball Operations Troy Justice chose to hold a clinic for about 20 experienced coaches from around the state. With the help of the Ludhiana Academy Basketball team, Justice worked on several defensive, dribbling, and offensive drills.

If you're like me, even the relative quiet of the stadium, free from all the hype and the blaring speakers and cheering crowds, would've resulted in a different kind of excitement. Relishing the opportunity, I got to observe Justice teach several drills to the players and the coaches, especially as he focused on every tiny detail that effects the big picture. It is as important to perfect your shooting action as it is to know where to position your feet when defending between two players. It is as important to make that extra pass on offence as it is to know exactly when and and where you should raise your elbow to block off a player trying to make cutting move to the basket.

Justice spoke to the coaches about the importance of being patient with the players, even the ones who were slower in picking up the little details. The constant repetition of the defensive and offensive plays, done over and over again with each players could have been boring to the layman, but to these coaches, it was a fascinating exercise in perfecting your practices. The coaches also took the time to hold intense discussions amongst themselves about these drills. They took notes, watched, and learned several of the drills. I don't think the players involved realised how lucky they were!

Justice's motto for the day seemed to be: "Practice hard so that the games are easy." He said that if the coaches put the players into extremely difficult situations during the practices, they would not only find a lot to teach from these situations, but the players would then find the in-game situations easier. Justice held difficult offensive drills such as pitting three players against six or asking one player to dribble down the court to score at the basket on the other end while being defended by two players.

Additionally, Justice and the players worked on post defence, weak-side help defence, several dribbling drills with two basketballs, and defensive positioning.

At the end of the day, the coaches were presented with a coaching tips DVD and NBA-India Coaching guides by Justice. He also encouraged them to create their own detailed playbooks so that they could be more involved with the design of each aspect of the game.

An afternoon well spent, then. In taking their time to summit together to theorise and practice the teaching of hoops, each of the coaches will be able to go back and influence hundreds of other basketball players around the state and the country.

You know you live in Africa when... II

So sleepy.  So gonna make this short.

You know you live in Africa when...

... a lizard falls into the sink while you are washing the dishes and scares the bejeezus out of you!  seriously!  out of nowhere!  for reals.

You know you are an American princess when...

... you run out of the kitchen when the above occurs and refuse to return until morning.

And with that, good night.

FIBA launches new ranking system

Following the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Men which concluded last Sunday in Istanbul, Turkey, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) have launched a completely new ranking system. For the first time ever, the U19 and U17 FIBA World Championships for Boys and Girls as well as all U16 and U18 continental championships weigh in to determine the new FIBA categories for Boys and Girls.

Therefore the new FIBA ranking now includes five categories: Men, Women, Boys, Girls and a Combined Ranking that takes into account results from all genders and all age categories. The new system makes for a more accurate pecking order of the world's basketball nations.


India’s FIBA World rankings are:
Men: 50
Women: 43
Boys: 45
Girls: 34
Combined: 49

India’s FIBA Asia rankings are:
Men: 10
Women: 7
Boys: 11
Girls: 7
Combined: 8

"I am very happy to see these new and complete world rankings including the youth categories," said FIBA Secretary General and International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Patrick Baumann.

"This is a great initiative and one that has been a long time coming. We have to make sure we reward the countries that perform well in youth competitions because the young players coming through the junior ranks are the best investment in the future of basketball."


The United States of America (USA), whose Senior Men’s team won the World Championship recently, currently rank supreme in all categories, including the new youth rankings for Boys and Girls which have been added in the new system.

See full rankings here.