Basketball

In five weeks of being here and traveling extensively throughout the country I did not see a basketball hoop. Soccer and rugby are the popular sports and get the funding. However, through, C4L, the organization I have been working with while here they found some rural township kids who play basketball. So we (Donald from C4L and I) set out to a rural township to do a basketball clinic.

We were supposed to leave the center at 1:30, but I found out about something called “Africa time”. It happens when it happens. We ended up leaving at 2:15 and met with the “team.” After arriving and looking around I still had not seen a basketball hoop. As it turns out, the team does play, but they play on a “net ball” court. Net ball looks similar to basketball hoop, but doesn’t have a backboard. And it is played mostly by girls.

So I met with these guys and talked to them for an hour and a half about basketball; rules, violations, fouls, shot clocks and anything else that they would ask about. I demonstrated with a can of back beans since they didn’t have a basketball. The soccer ball they used went flat.

They are interested in learning so I will continue to go out there to work with them. Pieter and I are working to make a basketball hoop. Pieter welds, so we are working on it in the back yard. We’ll see how it goes and see if they can come up with a post to put it on.

I also got to peek in on choir practice and got to listen to the best music I have heard here.

Mark