If you’re a basketballer and you’ve got game, then on Sunday morning at eight, you’ll definitely want to be at the Civic Center. That’s because the Belize Basketball Federation is selecting the men’s senior national team. It’s an open call nationally and internationally, and organizer Charles Ellis says this isn’t any hurry come up effort, it’s the start of a process and they are serious about grooming a team that well re-establish Belize as a contender in the Caribbean and Central America.
Charles Ellis,
“We have a 24 man slot to fill. We have to fill it by the 20th of April so we can submit that. We’re calling for Belizean Americans and nationals to fill these roles. We have a lot of talent playing in different tournaments throughout the country so we’re inviting everybody to come so everybody can apply but we’re looking for our senior talented guys.”
Jules Vasquez,
It isn’t for one team or one tournament as we’ve seen in the past, these players will be asked to make a long term commitment?
Charles Ellis,
“We’re asking for at least a two year commitment from the players because we have a program in place and a plan that we want these guys to come in at least once a week when there is no tournament. We also will be inviting the international guys to come in and play on maybe a quarterly basis so it is an ongoing process. We want the team to be cohesive and we want everybody to gel and to know how we play together.”
“What we’re really talking about is establishing a wholistic, all year round structured program for developing a national team. By that we will have a committed contracted head coach and coaching staff, a core of 24 players who will play regularly, practice regularly, prepare regularly. In the past whenever we are asked to field national teams, we tend to scramble to find players and get the team ready. With what we are establishing now, we will be ready whenever there is a need for us to compete and by having this structured program, we feel that the level of play will certainly improve to where it was before.”
Again, tryouts start at 8:00 on Sunday morning.
