Major Boost for Youth Basketball

Scores of excited primary school kids braved the rains on Friday to learn basic basketball skills as part of the first-ever Net Blazers Basketball Festival. The event saw close to 100 children from seven schools between Bexon and Gros Islet working with coaches and current and former national players at the Vigie Multipurpose Sports Complex. The festival marked a significant milestone in the club’s Bringing Buckets Home pilot programme, which is based in primary schools across the northern district of Saint Lucia. The initiative, spearheaded by former national athlete and Net Blazers member Petal Brown, focuses on developing basketball skills and fostering positive values among young students at schools islandwide.   “And really the scope of it is to start kids from a younger age into the sport of basketball,” said Nikaela Khodra, public relations officer of Net Blazers. “So that when they do get to that higher age gap, they’re able to perform at a better standard and hopefully go on for national teams. Trying to bridge that gap that we saw before and that’s really the goal of today. So a fun-filled day of activities.” “We have the programme going on, so it’s a pilot programme with the goal...