Larry Davis, coach of the visiting South Carolina (SC) Lady All-Star team, held his first clinic yesterday with local male and female players for this year’s Inter-Guiana Games which is set for next month in Suriname.
Davis explained to Stabroek Sport that for starters, he wanted to see how much the players knew and so he began by going through some simple basketball drills.
“Well as you know the players are under the guidance of Bobby (Cadogan) so I wanted to see how much they know so far in terms as their fundamentals, so I had planned some simple drills and from there things would pick up,” Davis said.
Meanwhile the visiting females held their first game against Guyana’s national female team but up to press time the results of the game was unknown.
However, Davis stated that although his ladies were good and are used to coming out on top, in this case winning all their games was not a priority.
Making sure that they make a positive impact on the sport locally and on the local females takes precedence, he sad.
“You know it’s not about us coming here to win, it’s about us giving the local ladies a chance to play with females just like themselves who basically have made basketball their lives,” said the visiting coach.
Guyana have only won the female version of the prestigious Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) basketball championships once back in 1996 when it was then named the CARICOM championships and since then female participation in the event has taken a nose dive.
But Davis said that this could change if only the local ladies are shown that with basketball, they can go places.
“I think in Guyana lately they are given the left overs, I think the guys are solid but the females they need some inspiration and I feel that’s where these ladies come in because all of them have had a free education at some of the finest educational institutions in the US and have made the game their life. So I think if the local ladies can see that and understand, I feel we can spark a growth even though our time here is short,” he noted.
Davis and his SC Lady All-Star team will continue their tour today when they hold sessions with male and female high school players and will play another game tonight against the local ladies.
