SHORTLY AFTER being reinstated last month for his second full term as president of the Jamaica Basketball Association (JBA), Marland Nattie divulged a host of plans his regime will undertake.
Among these are marketing the sport, increasing the competitiveness of local tournaments, providing scholarships, forming parish associations and training referees and coaches to attain international standard.
With the sensationalism and magnetic effect basketball has, Nattie has a wide cross-section of eager youths to cater to. But like most sports in a depreciating economy, basketball's prospects have been jammed by insufficient resources.
The Gleaner caught up with Nattie in a One-on-One interview and discussed achievements of the JBA, the growth of the sport locally and which direction basketball in Jamaica will take.
QUESTION: What's the greatest need of the JBA at present?
MARLAND NATTIE: Better facilities (playing): the facilities certainly need to be upgraded.
Q: How has the high cost of the indoor facility (National Indoor Sports Centre) affected the JBA?
MN: Well it affects everyone when you consider that the association is a non-profit organisation run mainly by volunteers. So the association would not have these funds readily available to rent the facility.
Q: What has been your toughest task in developing basketball in Jamaica?
MN: The toughest task is getting persons to assist us in marketing and promoting the sport. We have not been able to secure anyone and with that not being there you find that this hinders our development programme. We basically work from a national developmental plan and this requires funds and the funding has to come from somewhere. The Institute of Sports and the Sports Development Foundation, which are our main contributors, provide for us but it doesn't cover everything.
Q: When you speak of marketing, what specifically do you refer to?
MN: It's a combination of everything (air time, press releases). Letting the public know exactly what we are doing because I don't think everybody knows what we are doing and the level of achievement we've had over the years. Ideally, when people know what we are doing and that what we do benefit youngsters and create opportunities for them I think that will create the avenue for sponsors to get on board.
Q: The JBA recently sent some kids on scholarship recently. How many benefited?
MN: Last summer we sent off over 12 kids on scholarships and what was good was that a lot of girls were also involved.
Q: What process did these players go through to earn a scholarship?
MN: At the end of each league, especially school leagues, each conference selected their top players for an all-star team and the conference and the school assists the kids in coming to the Star Search camp a one-week live-in camp at the GC Foster College. During the camp, they do fundamentals of basketball in the day and in the evening they do life skills development, where we invite persons from the corporate society to talk to the kids and try to motivate them to do well in their school work and to have the right attitude towards life. So the camp is two-fold: basketball plus personal development. At the last camp we had invited several coaches from overseas and they came and saw the talent pool, they selected persons and they made the necessary referrals.
Q: The Gleaner understands that one of your goals for this term is ensuring that referees and coaches are of an international standard. How important is this to the development plan?
MN: We as administrators are in control of creating the framework for a better programme, but it is the coaches and the referees that will see the programme developing. They are the ones that are in direct contact with the players; they are the ones who teach the players and this is why it is so important. We recently adopted a Canadian programme for coaches and the JBA and ISSA (Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association) have ensured that all coaches that coach in the high schools are certified at the level one position. We also started a coaches association, where we work with the coaches setting up a code of ethics and assisting them in further training.
Q: How much has basketball grown in the last 10 years in Jamaica?
MN: The growth has been tremendous. For me the renaissance started in 1996 when some of us players and past players were concerned as to what was happening with the sport in Jamaica, especially when compared to some of our Caribbean neighbours such as Bahamas, which was way ahead of us. We had the talented youngsters but the programme was woefully lacking. So we went about and created a development plan. We looked at players, referees, and coaches and worked with that plan and as time went by we modified it as necessary. We also expanded the league and established conferences across the island and our next move is to have parish associations. With the parish associations we'll be able to have more community leagues and involve more persons.
Q: If the JBA were to receive added sponsorship, how would you prioritise the funds?
MN: Firstly, set up the parish associations. Secondly, try and develop a semi-professional league and thirdly, try and qualify for one of those top FIBA (Federation of International Basketball Association) tournaments, whether it's for the World Games or for the Olympics.
Q: Is it possible for Caribbean countries to come together and form their own league?
MN: Funny enough you should ask me that because I went to a FIBA-America conference and that is exactly what they were doing. They are looking at a possible registration card for all players in the region and that card will allow the players special privileges. They are looking at a legitimate league and a three-on-three competition. In 2005, they'll be using three referees (up from two) and they are looking at developing a regional magazine. These are some of the things they are looking at in terms of promoting the game.
