Annual General Meeting

To: All Members

The club will be hosting it AGM on 10th August 2008 at the Checker Hall pavilion at 5pm .
Please note that all members must paid up all subs in full to the end of July2008 to vote or run for any position on the committee.You may contact the ‘treasurer for your arrears in subs.

U21 PRACTICE TUESDAY MORNING

Practice session # 4 will be held on Tuesday  29th July 2008 morning at 7am.

WHO IS WHO IN THE THE ARAWAK BRAVES UNDER 21

Damian Bovell : Captain. Plays at the center position in this team but because Andi daniel has joined team it mean that he can play at his normal position at power forward.

Demario Prescod : Vice captain. Normally plays off guard but in this team he will alternate between small forward at point at times.

Chadd Greaves: Will play at the important position of small forward. however he will be required to play point at various times.

Andi Daniel :  New Member. Presently playing in the senior team. he will be playing at the center position.

Darren Small : New player. Played for team before but did not take part last year. He will be alternating between center and small forward.

Christan Hunte; will play shooting guard.

Kevin Collymore: Will play shooting guard.

Orel Richmand;  New player. will play off guard.

Romar Beckles : Player from Cougars. Will alternate between shooting guard and small forward.

ARAWAK BRAVES SECRET WEAPON. SHANE WORRELL

He joined the team when he was about sixteen years old. A young boy form the remote district of Indian Ground which has the amazing site of a phone booth in the middle of a pasture were the cows lime. He played for Braves in the Tang Tournament  and was always a person of little words it appeared. It was said that he was a footballer who played basketball but he joined the senior team the next season.

He not only joined the basketball team to play ball but he also accepted various post in the executive over the years. he was always very dependable and never turned down any position offered or task given.

His importance to the basketball team was something that has evolved over time. I never realize that when players fail to perform at various positions i would instinctively put Shane to play until the team settled back down.  He has become a utility player. He has played form the center position to point guard. When he can’t make a game i feel out of sorts. I once asked him if he is always in that quiet mood and told me emphatically no that he will speak when there is reason to. Whenever i have asked him for an opinion he has never fail to give me a well thoughtout response. What i enjoy most though is his defence on court. Over the last three years he has surprised me with the types of block shots he is able to execute.  I have seen him block balls from some very imposible positions.

He is very highly respected by everyone in the team especially by the younger players. They always speak highly of him and he tends to get the best out of them.

Shane is now about to graduate to another important phase of his life. I have no doubt that he will do a wonderfull job and i know it will demand a vast amount of his time and attention.

I would like to use this forum at this time to say thanks for your support over the years.  You will never know how much help, joy and encouragement you have gaven me and the team. These memories will always be with me for as long as i live.  Good luck to you and yours as you start on your lifes journey. God bless.

DAMIAN BOVELL AND DEMARIO PRESCOD TO LEAD BRAVES U21

Damian Bovell is the Captain of the Arawak braves Basketball team and Demario Prescod is his deputy. They were elected by the team on Tuesday 22nd July 2008.

Damian is currently playing in the division three team where he is performing very well. Check his stats in the “roster ” in the bball section of the website.  His leadership skills were seen very early. He leads from among and is always willing to help players who are struggling.  He is very approachable.  He enjoys playing bball and gets very depress when issues occur that have a negative impact on a player or the team.  He is among the top performers in the senior team. 

Demario Prescod is also playing in the senior team and his basketball is improving with every game. He is a very vocal and outspoken person who will call a spade a spade. When you get to know him thought you would find that he is a very organized person who will listen to you and would take advice. he would tell you that he is not a runner.  He normally work well with Damian and is very keen on playing U21. He is looking forward to more playing time i suppose.

He has the opportunity to assist in leading a fairly good looking team and i hope they are up to the challenge.  I WISH THEM ALL THE BEST.

A HURRICANE TIP.

In this season of high winds and fload threats it is a good idea to look after your lawns.  NEVER FAIL TO KEEP YOUR LAWN MOWED. Avoid regret.

NORTHERN DERBY TURNS OUT TO BE NORTHERN BLOW OUT.

In what was supposed to be the hightlight game of the competition for the Arawak Braves team has turned out to be a nightmare.  All that is left from the game is questions. Questions that have been asked before but now are leading to more deeper and serious questions. The answers? Well i can’t seem to get any so far. Maybe it’s time for a very deep audit of the bball team. These are some of the questions that begs to be answered. Is the coach setting to high a standard for the team?  Is he expecting and demanding to much of his players?  Is his goal for the team unrealistic? Is his program a progressive one? Is it time for a new direction and leadership?  If there is anyone who think or believe that he/she can offer an answer to any of these questions i will appreciate you contacting me to discuss one on one.

The starting five was Adrian, Andi, Andrew, Ron and Karim. This five possess perimeter shooters, rebounders, and ball handelers. So why didn’t we get a good start? There was no extra pressure by Mayhill. Why cant Arawak Braves players execute simple basketball fundamentals? Either they are not taught or they are not re-enforced by the coach at practice. This five never really settled. they looked unsure on offence. they didn’t move the ball arround, the shoots taken by the main shooters were poorly taken shots and defensively they were not cohesive. A Little improvement was made after the time out but the turnovers and poorly taken shots and the lack of purpose and drive on offence was seen. The quarter ended Arawak braves 11. Mayhill 22.  Braves had 10 turnovers in this quarter.

The shooting slump cotinued in this quarter with Arawak Braves creating may fast break situations which they fail to convert. There was a glaring lack of leadership on the court and even the coach seem powerless to get the players to take advantage of their oppertunities. Mayhill was in total control converting most of the turnovers Braves committed. They controlled both boards with Braves managing to get only 9 rebounds. The defence that was the highlight of the previous games was not seen in this game at all. The halftime score was Arawak Braves 23,  Mayhill 45.

The second half saw some improvement with Shane Worrell and Roland Fields entering the game for the first time.  Some defence was played and the team started to score the ball more often. They worked the ball around more and the ball ended in the correct players hand more often. The defence also created fastbreaks which they scored more of. They out scored Mayhill 21 to 11 in this quarter. score at end of quarter Arawak Braves 42, Mayhill 56.

the final quarter started promisingly but after about five minutes they seem to run out of steam. They never took control of the offensive or defensive boards. They never box out as a team and they allowed Mayhill to push their offence to far from the basket. The players who are the shooters in the team play too timid. Mayhill took full control in the final five minutes and used their young players to finish off the kill. I must admitt that i expected Arawak Braves to win that game by twenty points or more but am i expecting too much? should i just give up? should i concentrate on the younger players and try to upgrade their game? The final score was Arawak Braves 60, Mayhill 83. I guess i should know that we are in the hurricane season and should expect some blowouts.

A LOOK AT THE GAME STATS;

FIELD GOALS WE SCORED 25 OF 58.  3 POINT ATTEMPS: 2 OF 11    FREE THROWS:  4 OF 9   ONLY THREE PLAYERS WENT TO THE LINE.  TEAM AVERAGED 8 REBOUNDS PER QUARTER.  TEAM TURNOVERS 28:        ASSIST 13     TEAM STEALS 16    TEAM BLOCKS 3     TEAM FOULS 16.

PRACTICE FOR UNDER 21 THURSDAY NIGHT 7.30PM

THERE WILL BE THE THIRD PRACTICE SESSION FOR THE UNDER 21 ON THURS AT 7.30PM AT THE CHECKER HALL BBALL COURT.

TEAM FOR CHALLENGERS AT YMCA TONIGHT.

ADRIAN BROME, ANDI DANIEL, DAMIAN BOVELL, DAMIAN LEACOCK, DEMARIO PRESCOD, ANDREW GIBBS, SHANE WORRELL,RON TAITT, ROLAND FIELDS, CHADD GREAVES, KARIM WILLINS AND JASON JORDAN.

MICHAEL TOPPIN IS OVERSEAS. COREY GRAHAM WORK COMMITTMENTS AND ORAL RICHMAN INJURY.

UNDER 21 FLASH

DUE TO SMALL NUMBERS OF OFFICIALS AVAILABLE THE UNDER 21 WILL NOW BEGIN IN AUGUST.

I THEREFORE EXPECT THAT DEMARIO (PRESS MAH CLOTHES) PRESCOD WOULD ORGANIZE THESE PLAYERS BETTER AND MAKE SURE THEY PREPARE AND TAKE IT SERIOUSLY. I HAVE THE MONEY WHICH CAN BE RETURNED ANYTIME.

BASKETBALL TIPS.

A PLAYER ON JOINING A TEAM MUST ADJUST HIS SKILLS TO SUIT THE STYLE AND TYPE OF PLAY OF THAT TEAM.  THIS HAS NOTHIN TO DO WITH THE SKILLS OF THE PLAYER. THE PLAYER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE QUALITY AND LEVEL OF HIS OWN SKILLS. HE MUST ALSO BE WILLING TO LEARN NEW TECHNIQUES THAT WILL HELP HIM IMPROVE SAME. THE PROBLEM STARTS WHEN THAT PLAYER SHOWS THAT HE IS NOT LEARNING AND THAT HE DOES NOT INTEND TO LEARN ANYTHING.

THE NORTHERN DERBY TAKES PLACE IN B.C.C. ON SAT 19TH.

Arawak Braves and Mayhill basketball teams will meet this year at BCC. In the last two years Arawak Braves have been in control for most of the games only to throw it away when the game got physical and their coach shouted  PRESS.

I am confident that the same will be attempted this year again. Only because it has worked for the last three years.

What we know about Mayhill?  well i would say nothin. We dont know how they score their points. We dont know who plays point for them. We know that their coach is a fleet footed offensive player with wonderful post moves. We know that Albert is not strong in the key so we dont have to pay him any mind when he is there. We know that the red point guard dont hit threes he only drives to basket. We know that knots dont play hard against Braves because he loves Hutson and have great respect for him. We know that they dont hit the boards hard and they try hard not to put Braves under too much pressure. They will not press us they love to see our half court game. These are the things that i have learnt over the years that Braves believe about the Mayhill Team.

May the better team win.  The team for that game will be picked on Thursday after practice.

FACE YOUR WEAKNESS AND CORRECT IT.TAKE YOUR TAIL FROM BETWEEN YOUR LEGS.

The coach has noticed a continual drop in the attendance at the practice sessions. This is very surprising to him. He has pointed out that the players who are having very poor performances at the games are the ones missing most often. This is the place where you work on things as an individual and then in a team setting so why should they be avoiding it. The captian should try as soon as possible to address this situation. This is where winners are born.

THIS WEBSITE IS NOT ONLY FOR THE COACH. YOUR COMMENTS ONLINE ARE WELCOMED

Just letting you know that you can respond to any article seen on this website by posting your comment. I must admit that i dont know how it is done but if you contact Mr Corey Graham he would only be too happy to give you information.

WINNING IS AN ATTITUDE WE HAVE TO CULTIVATE.

Are we playing to win?  Do we want to win?  This is a question i kept asking myself on my way to checker Hall on Saturday night after the Royals game. Why should these questions be in my head after i had just witness a very good performance by the Arawak Braves. Well, for one we lost a game we could have won easily and 2, it was on reflection of the discussion by the team after.  Something was missing. There was no passion. There was no emotion. No one there questioned why the few players we depend on to score the ball are just not doing the job.  Not one of them said what they did in their spare time between the other games to improve their poor shooting performances.  I am just wondering, now that we see the stats on our website three hours after every game if we will just turn up to the other games and just shoot poorly over and over and offer poor excuses after.  A question everyone should be asking is WHY DO WE GET SO CLOSE AND THEN ALLOW OURSELVES TO END UP SO FAR AWAY?

Guys am i alone with this feeling? Are you starting to wonder if we will ever develop a winning attitude? That little voice that with 1min, 39 sec left in the game tells you, wait! dont let them win this game. Let us build pressure on their main scorers while taking every precaution to make good shots on our offense. The entire team has to be involved they have to appreciate the situation. It cant be business as usual.

A winner is not someone who never lose. He is someone who knows how to lose and how to learn from that lost.  He knows that sometimes to get to a destination you have to go around the mountain if that is not possible he may have to go over and if thats not possible he will have to go through. Yes a winner equipts himself to handel all possibilities. There has got to be a goal set. There has got to be a belief that it can be achieved. There has got to be the commitment by individual players to make it happen. Only then can the team begin to play like winners. Winners react to situations as they occur. They stay clear of excuses because AN EXCUSE JUSTIFY THE ERROR AND THAT PERSON USUALLY DO NOT INTEND TO CORRECT IT.  They turn negative energy into positive energy everytime. No, never, and cant are words they avoid when on the court. A winner scores 9 of 18 in a game and is on the court next evening working on his shoot. If a winner misses 3 left hand lay ups in game 1 you can bet that wont happen in game 2.  Tireness and condition are physical states that dont exsist to winners. Somehow they get tired when the end whistle blows.

This is what is missing. The passion, the Challenge, the execution. Winning is not just about one game it involves our whole mental attitude to a series of task. It is an attitude we have to develop. It is mental, it is physical, it is about what has to be done to cross that finish line first. it is a seed that has to planted, grown and cultivated in this team. We have come to far to let teams who are not better than us get the better of us all the time. 

This seem to be a very popular quote nowadays. I will adjust it to suit our purpose because that is what a winner does. “LAST YEAR IS IN THE PAST, NEXT YEAR IS A MYSTERY BUT THIS YEAR IS HERE, WE HAVE PREPARED, WE HAVE TO MAKE OUR MOVE NOW. GIVE ME THE GIFT OF THE PRESENT, NOW. 

I will make this a new quote. i will make it my quote. That is what a winner does.