BRAVES U21 TEAM ELECTS NEW CAPTAIN

                                                                                         JAMAL THOMPSON

 Jamal Thompson has been elected Captain of the Braves U21 youth team for 2009.

Although this is first elected post his position of point guard in the team gives him the experience that will help him at the helm.  He has been their court leader for the past two years and he is highly respected by the team.  With Cleo Hurley joining the team the pressure of being the only ball handler will allow him to get more involved in the team offense.

Congratulations and good luck ‘Mouse’.

WHO IS WHO IN BRAVES U21 TEAM 2009

This years team features a few new faces. From the May hill team we have Jamal Jack Scantlebury and Cleo Hurley. Back from the Cougars Club is Jamal Thompson,  The debutantes are Shamar Linton and Hanif ‘Soup’ Charles. The only player from the last team is Demario “dough” Prescod. Following is a short note on the individual players

#4    Shamar Linton…..17 years old.  From Cave Hill, St Lucy.  Student of the Seventh Day Adventist School. This is his first competition and Club experience.

#5   Cleo Hurley…..19 years old.  From Maynards, St Peter.  Played bball for St Lucy Secondary and currently plays for Mayhill intermediate team.

#7   Hanif Charles…..19 years old.  From Cave Hill, St Lucy.  Student of the BCC.  This is his first real competition and club experience.

#10   Demario Prescod.   17 years old.  From Checker Hall, St Lucy.  The only person playing bball who work.  Played for Ellerslie under 16 team and currently plays for Braves division 3 team.

#12   Jamal Thompson…..19 years old.  From Hothersal Turning, St Michael.  Also known as mouse or tractor he was well known in the he school league playing for the Alleyne School a few years ago. He also played for the Cougars division 3 team.  Mouse assisted The young Braves in 2008 and returns to finish what he started.

and #13   Jamal ‘ Jack’ Scantlebury…..19 years old.   From Maynards, St Peter.   Played for St Lucy Secondary School and is currently playing  for Mayhill intermediate team.

This is an opportunity for the players to develop their skills and learn more about the game and about themselves.  Friendships will be made and solidified.  They will also see what the other teams are doing and have the chance to match skills and abilities.

I would like to thank the players who have come to help us and i hope that they enjoy the experience and have lots of fun and return to their respective Clubs stronger and better players.

Thank you and  God bless.

UNDER 21 TEAM TRAINNING BEGINS

The U21 practice sessions will begin on Wednesday June 17. at 7.30 pm at Checker Hall.
Once again The Checker Hall team will be made up of players under 21 from the Braves club and from the Cougars team. In addition there will be players from May hill team joining for the first time.
I hope they enjoy this season as much as they enjoyed the 2008 season. Good luck men.

BRAVES GAMES THIS WEEK

Fri 19 June at Gully Hill 6.30pm vs Yank Team Todd City United.

Sun 21 June at Culloden Road 6.30pm vs Grazettes Nets

ARAWAK BRAVES COACH HAPPY WITH THE CONTRIBUTION FROM THE BENCH

It is really quite remarkable that Braves continues to get a team to enter the BABA competition every year.  It is testament to the resilience of Adrian Brome and the wonderful group of young men that make up the club.  Every year some issue occurs that threaten the resolve of the club and yet the club continue on.  This year was no different.  I can safely say that every week one or two issues come up and they are dealt with.  People are offended sometimes by the manner some issues are dealt with and some by the fact they are the focus of the issue but it never seems to melt the bond that is Checker Hall Braves.
This year the team learned of the news that one of our most respected and inspirational players will not be in a Arawak Braves uniform  this season.  This caused some disappointment because of the fact that no actual reason was given and i guess everyone was wondering if it was something they did.  He did discuss the possibility of his leaving with the Coach two weeks before.   It  still took a couple of weeks, a few practice games for them to realize that for what ever reason he choose not to play and to respect his decision and move on.  Everyone agrees that he is still or brother and he needs our support.
This hurdle being crossed a number of players have stepped up their play.  Corey Graham, Demario Prescod, Alair Beckles, Jason Jordan and Ron Taitt have already shown great improvement.  Jason and Ron have had to share the point guard position in two of the four games because of injury to Roland Fields and have been doing a fantastic job.  Demario’s game has step up more than his attitude which still needs some work but he is fitting in offensively and is now paying some attention to his defence.  Corey Graham’s shooting is coming to the fore and Alair Beckles is working on his finishing the fast breaks and they just needs to play more.
It is hard to replace Shane because he was the heart of the Coaches strategy. He depended on him heavily.  He was a team all in one.  He was my 1,2,3,4, and 5  and was the birdie in my ear.  However Andrew and Leacock are attempting to play his role with some success.  So far they get the coach thumbs up.  Adrian took one game and a half to realize that Shane is no longer on the court with him and has now adjusted his role to suite the present cast.  Bovell has taken up the offensive lead and is very active on the defensive end working very hard and Andi Daniel is looking solid he just has to adjust his shot slightly because as the season goes on he has to relieve Adrian more.  Chadd has work commitments and has not been able to get a game yet while Hanif and Darrin are experiencing subs issues.
There is generally a positive energy coming from the court and i detect a genuine effort by all to play their roll the best they can.  A Coach ask for anything more. 
The next big game is on Thursday against Todds City ballers.  A game we need to win.  We have faced hard times and set backs before but they only cements or togetherness.  WE ARE THE ARAWAK  BRAVES

A PICTURE CAN SPEAK A THOUSAND WORDS?

                                          IN THE PHOTO THE COACH IS GIVING AN INSPIRATIONAL HALF TIME PEP TALK.

But to be honest do you think all the players here are listening to every word the coach is saying.  I don’t know but i will try to interpret the individual expressions and what was going through each persons mind at the moment the camera went FLASH!!!

Andi ” You believe the coach spit in my face again?”

Adrian ” I wonder when i will get a coach that i can look up to.  He has been a pain in my neck for 15 years. grow up shorty.”

Darrin ” Coach look like a fat elf in that hat.  I wonder if he ever went to xtreeme when he was young.”

Hanif  “Coach alright he there talking bout winning this game but he want me to lose my girl.

Jason ” Hanif  i see that when he start to talk he does make you want to go to the bathroom too.”

Roland ” Every time he open he mouth he does say that i don’t like practice because i don’t like to run. But honestly look at he guts.  I think he need more practice than me.”

Read carefully and then tell me if what you read is true.  I know.  I agree with you.

ARAWAK BRAVES AT #7 AT END OF FOUR GAMES.

 

In Photo Andrew Gibbs left and Damian Bovell telling Darrin (phanton) Small how they scored 14 pts each in game #4

A check with a simple but impressive BABA new website will reveal that the Arawak braves have started the 2009 season hot and cold.  They lost their first game to a very improved Belfield team and then was patiently picked apart by Royals in their second outing.  The coach and the players had a number of discussions and agreed to a number of adjustments.  They then worked on them in the two practice sessions that was available.

They seem to have hit the nail on the head because they went to Jackson for their next game and won the game by a whopping 21 points and they limited Jackson to under 10 points in three of the quarters. 8, 3, and 6 in the third to fourth quarters.  Along with this good defence we had good offensive displays.  Led by a 21 point harvest by Damian Leacock he got some assistance from Damian Bovell 14 and  Adrian Brome 8.

They carried this winning formula to their next game against Deacons Volleyballers with the same result.  They allowed the team 7 points in the first quarter 3 of which came on  the buzzer at the end of the quarter.  They let the pressure up in the next two quarters allowing 13 and 16 points to be got by the volleyballers before they buckled down once again to play a miserly fourth quarter.  The Volleyballers were made to fight under some stifulling defensive pressure to get just 4 points.  The highlight of this defence was back to back blocks given by Adrian (move that sh**) Brome to the tallest Deacons Volleyballer. Oh My dear it was tooo sweeeeet. 

In this game the offence was good. Damian (push it D) Bovell led with 14 points and Andrew Gibbs 14 points and they receive assistance from Damian Leacock 10 and Adrian Brome 8.  Mention must be made of the play by Jason (to fat to fast) Jordan and Ron (Mr Coool) Taitt.  They have been doing a good ball handling job in the absence of Roland Fields the offence is running fairly smooth and the fast break is being a factor.

Where do Arawak go from here?  I only hope that it going to be up. The next game is against Todds City ville ballers who at this point is two places above us in the standings.   Arawak Braves need to win this game and the next game against the Lakers.  This is the team immediate goal.  We must remember that GOALS ARE NEVER ACHEIVED WITHOUT EFFORT. Yes effort equates to hard work and sacrifice.  Something Arawak Braves is accustom to.

ARAWAK BRAVES GAME SCHEDULE FOR 2009 SEASON

WED    MAY  27   AT  HUSBANDS  COURT…..CHECKER HALL  VS  DEACONS ROAD VOLLEYBALLERS     6.30PM

THURS   JUNE 4  AT  YMCA……………………CHECKER HALL  VS  TODDS CITYVILLE………………….          8.00PM

THURS  JUNE  11   AT  BELFIELD…………….LAKERS  VS   CHECKER HALL……………………………….          6.30PM

SUN   JUNE  21      AT   BELFIELD…………….CHECKER HALL  VS  GRAZETTE NETS……………………            6.30PM

check them out here – http://www.bajanbasketball.com/league/division_info.aspx?SeasonID=3537&DivisionID=6220&TeamID=22539&DisplayType=11&EventTypeID=27074

PREPARING FOR BATTLE

Arawak Braves after a successful Practice game.  Left to right front row Ron Taitt, Chadd Greaves,  Vice captain Damian Leacock and Darrin (Phantom) Small.  Sitting on bench left to right is Demario Prescod, Roland Fields, Captain Damian Bovell, Corey Graham and Alair Beckles.  The squatters are Andi Daniel and Adrian Bromes with bottle in hand.

DAMIAN BOVELL TO LEAD ARAWAK BRAVES IN 2009 SEASON

Congratulations to Damian Bovell.  He was elected Captain to lead the Arawak Braves division 3 team in the 2009 BABA season. 

Being Captain is not new to Damian as he was the leader of the Under 21 team for the last 2 years.  He takes his responsibility very seriously and is a very good motivator.  Although he is young he never avoids responsibility.  In fact the responsibility seem to enhance him more than hinder his play.  I am therefore expecting him to have a outstanding year.

All the best Damian and I hope you continue the good work.

In the Photo above Damian is #6 and his deputy Leacock is the first from the right in the front.

LEACOCK IS NEW VICE CAPTAIN OF ARAWAK BRAVES FOR 2009 SEASON

Congratulations to Damian Leacock who  has accepted the position of vice captain of the Arawak Braves division 3 basketball team for the 2009 BABA basketball season.

This is the first position he has ever held other than player in the team and I am very proud of him.  I hope that this would encourage him  to follow in the footsteps of  Shane Worrell, Andi Daniel and Demario Prescod who are currently in positions on the Braves executive. I want him to know that there is a large support group in the Club and that someone will always be there to help when he needs it.

I wish him all the best and hope that he has a very successful season.

ARAWAK CHECKER HALL BRAVES BEGIN THEIR SEASON ON THURSDAY

The Arawak Braves will play their first game of the 2009 season on Thursday may 14th at 6.30pm against Belfield. We played this team in first game of the 2008 season also.
All players are asked to have their subs up to date. Members who are not financial will not be given uniforms.
It will be a very challenging season but I am confident that players will step up to the challenge.

CHECK YOUR GAME RATING

Players of the Arawak Braves can now check their website to see what the Coach thought of their performance in any game.  They can then contact the Coach and query any of the results.

You will be rated in various categories. (1)  Half Court Defence,  (2) Transition Defence,  (3)  Fast Break Offense, (4)  Half Court Offense, (5)  Shot selection,  (6)  Execution of Game plan, and (7) Rebounding.

Each category rates how the individual performed as seen through the eye of the Coach.

The player will then add all the points scored and divided the total by 7 to determine what their game rate will be

e.g     Michael Brown         Half Court Defence…..65      Transition Defence…..55      fast break Offense…..40   Half Court Offense…..55  

Shot selection…..65   Team plan execution…..80   Rebounding…..35

                                                 Michael Brown’s game rating is then 56

From this information Michael can see that his defence was satisfactory. His offense needs some work and his effectiveness on the fast break needs to be improved.  His Rebounding needs major attention.   He can discuss his concerns with the coach

The rate key is……………….0 to 25…….weak performance     25 to 50…… Satisfactory efforts made.     50 to 75…….Very good effort made

                                                       75 to 100……..Excellent game played

ARAWAK BRAVES PLAYS PRACTICE GAME #2 AGAINST BELFIELD.

Belfield with a new coach and a young team at very short notice agreed to play a practice game against the Arawak Braves on Saturday 4Th April at eight o’clock directly after the BABA opening Ceremony.  The Ceremony was due to began at 6pm but was delayed and finally began at about 7pm. This resulted with the two teams hurriedly leaving the gymnasium and heading to the Belfield hard courts.

Belfied had everything well organized. There was a timekeeper, a referee, and a scorer who kept us up to date with the scores on a regular basis.  The game started at about 9.15pm.

Arawak Braves had eight players present. Hanif, Allair, Andy, Jason, Darren, Jeremy,Adrian, who acted as the coach because the coach was late, and Roland who had to go and get permission from his girl to play. Adrian choose a starting line up of Andy (5) Hanif (4) Darren (3) Allair (2) and Jason (1).

Belfield’s coach took the opportunity to let his players run his offensive and defensive systems.  The team do have some experience players but they have a number of young players who are now getting familiar with running and applying basketball systems. As is the case in these situations the players will make mistakes but they generally did a good job.

As for the Arawak Braves the starting five was basically an U21 team. The average combine age of this group is 19.  Like the Belfield team they struggled. They went out of position often, missed easy opportunities on the offensive, missed easy lay ups, made some bad passes but what was refreshing was their attitude. During the regular time outs that were called by both teams the players listened and then made genuine efforts to improve on their understanding and reading of the situations.  It was very pleasing.  These young guys were always in the game although not dominating.

                                                       Here the ball is rotated to the left. Darren drives and pull up for the jumper.

The team ended the half down by six after Adrian hit a three point shot on the buzzer with 2 sec left on the clock. During the short halftime break we talked about the defence alot and the areas where we were falling down. Each player saw where the adjustments had to be made.  They agreed that not having numbers regularly at practice sessions was the reason for many of the problems experienced.  Goals were set for the team and individuals to execute in the second half and everyone seemed eager to improve their performance.

The third quarter was very short. So short that it seemed like 5 mins although it was 10 mins running time.  Both teams tried really hard to execute their game plan. Unfortunately they fail to score regularly the shots the systems created.  Arawak Braves had the better of the exchanges as they really worked hard on defence and improved their rebounding performance 95%.  This resulted with them getting their fast break going. The two teams both scored less than 10 points in this quarter but this was because of the time factor.

Then came the fourth quarter. The two coaches agreed that the third quarter was too short and to extend this one to 20 mins. Arawak Braves wasted no time.  They made all the neccessary defensive adjustments that had to be made.  The three small men worked hard pressuring the ball handlers ,stopping the penetrations, closing off the baseline drives,helping and covering for one another, and combined with Adrian, Andy and Hanif to control the defensive boards allowing no second shots and getting four out of every five rebounds down there.  This allowed them to start their fast break but unlike the last quarter they scored more of the lay ups. Everyone contributed and more good offensive decisions were made. Hanif became visible offensively and along with Andy and Adrian hit both boards very hard.  Darren ,Allair and Jason did much better too as they ran the court better, and their shot selection was much improved.  Roland was good on the defence and actually got a number of rebounds. However I want him to play more aggressive offence but i was happy with the defensive effort made.  The team was very cohesive and therefore very productive in this quarter as they scored thirty points.  Even the fourteen year old rookie Jeremy took part.  Although not knowing a lot above what was going on he managed to intercept seven passes and had two big steals.

We recognized that we have some issues and that mistakes will be made sometimes in trying to deal with them. We must remember that basketball is the teams focus and that in order to play together we have to respect and be there for each other.  Believe it or not we all have one goal. To help the team to win.  That was clear on Saturday night.  After the game everyone was satisfied, happy and felt part of a TEAM.  Yes there is lots of work to do.  Work that will be done by everyone in the practices and practice games to come.  When I left Belfied court on Saturday night  at 11 30pm and looked at the young and older players heading towards the bus stop and cars to get home this quote came to my mind. BEHIND EVERY DARK CLOUD THERE IS A SILVER LINNING. These men could have been out Partying but Arawak Braves needed them and they were there for the team. Thanks men

BABA MEETING

There will be a meeting for all basketball clubs on Saturday 21st March 2009 at the YMCA at 6.00pm.
Demario Prescod has been selected to attend on behalf of The Braves Basketball Team.