Words by Roy Packham
In my previous article titled The State of the Game, I suggested that coaching might be one reason for the present low standard of basketball found in this country, at both senior and, particularly, junior level.
I would say at the outset that I believe it is vitally important to produce good junior (club) coaches. We have to improve the standard of senior club coaches of course, but it is at a junior level that players develop their skills, techniques, and habits. Good and bad habits have one thing in common, they are both difficult to get out of, and the same applies to skill and technique, so it is vitally important that the correct skills and techniques are taught, and taught correctly, at as early a time as possible.
Over the past 10 years there has been little improvement in the standard of coaching in England, a fact I believe can be confirmed by simply looking at the little progression in standard of play in the junior leagues, the BBL and the mediocre results achieved by our national teams.
There have been published numerous coaching documents, suggested “performance pathways”, themes of emphasis, basic skills lists and areas of emphasis, all of which have, more or less, said exactly the same thing and I understand yet another set of guidelines is about to be published. However, these have done little to improve coaching standards. Why?
The ultimate responsibility for coaching standards is, presently, the EB’s Office of Coaching Development and it has many questions to answer as to what it has done or is doing to raise not only the coaching standards but also the profile and earning opportunities of its coaches and just why there has been no significant increase in coaching standards.
For perhaps 95% of his or her time, a coach has to be a teacher. He or she has to teach all the basic individual and team fundamentals. It is for the other 5% of the time, that the coach really has to be a coach, that is, when coaching games; seeing and recognizing situations as they develop and taking appropriate action to try and win, making correct substitutions, knowing when and when not to take a Time Out and so on.
It is here there is a paradox. If it is the poor playing standard of basketball that prevents coaches gaining experience, then, how can coaches themselves improve to eventually help improve the playing standard?
There are two main schools of thought appertaining as to what should be required from coaches. In the United States, the almost only requirement is to have experience. Many of the country’s foremost coaches have probably all played the game, but may well not have any qualifications in such areas as sports psychology, nutrition, motivation, and so on. Anybody who wants to become a coach has countless opportunities to learn by starting for example at a high school or college level as an assistant/graduate assistant coach to, hopefully, eventually being appointed as a head coach.
In Europe, basketball is not so well developed, there is no high school/college system, and basketball is totally club based. A person who wants to coach has to become a member of a club and coach a club team. The overall standard is lower than in the United States and it is more difficult to gain experience. As a result nearly all European countries have a system of coaching licenses that must be acquired by anyone who wants to be a coach.
How many English coaches have we had, or do we have, who can stand alongside coaches from, say, Spain, Greece, Serbia? Why are there so many more good coaches abroad than in England? How did they all manage to acquire their knowledge and success?
Well, if one compares what coaches from Serbia and Spain have to do to obtain their coaching licenses1, the previous question may be answered; one can see that the requirements are far more stringent.
At present the Association organizes various grades of coaching courses and these are certainly useful in that they encourage people to undertake and gain qualifications, but how many attend these courses to gain a qualification for their C.V., rather than to eventually become coaches of league basketball teams or clubs?
There are at present three primary levels of coaching qualification.
Level 1 is for “those who wish to commit (?) to basketball. With this award one may only assist a coach who has a Level 2 award.” (The question mark is mine)
The Level 2 award “is the standard level of coaching qualification for all club coaches working at local and junior national league level who wish to commit to coaching basketball. The award gives an overview of coaching styles and the skills and techniques of basketball.”
The Level 3 award “is the advanced level of coaching qualification and is suitable for coaches working with all standards of players.”
If these courses are obligatory to coach at any specific level, as they are supposed to be, there is nothing to be found on the EB web site that defines this obligation.
Having been an assessor I know that these courses are somewhat basic, and are not particularly demanding. I reiterate that if the overall standard of coaching is to improve, most especially at a junior level, then far more stringent requirements must be demanded from coaches.
How well and how often does the Administration monitor its course assessors and the courses themselves, how often does it monitor the performance of those who coach at any club level, and does it ensure that all coaches hold the correct award qualification. How many BBL coaches (or even National team coaches) presently hold the Level 3 coaching award, as supposedly required? (As I will suggest later, this should arguably be the responsibility of the Basketball Coaches Association – BCA) 2
Having both assessed and attended many assessing courses I know that the published syllabi are by no means correctly followed or taught. For example, although the Level 2 syllabus requires a 4 to 6 week interval between module 5 and module 6, this is often ignored and the complete award is run over consecutive days. Modules are not correctly adhered to and the individual course syllabus is as defined by the course tutors. There should also be a final, external, assessment of 20 minutes, but this is invariably done internally thus giving the possibility of biased assessments.
Many Level 2 course assessors themselves only hold the Level 2 award, some having held the award for a very short period of time and are not very experienced in [game] coaching at a club level. This must give rise to questioning the validity and quality of awarded qualifications.
Surely, to assess at Level 2, an assessor should have held the Level 3 qualification for a minimum period of time and, most importantly, to have coached at a (senior?) club level for a minimum period of time?
Unlike European qualifications, there is no defined time limit placed upon coaches before allowing them to take a higher level qualification. I have assessed coaches taking their level 2 qualifications who have only held their level 1 qualification for a matter of months, have never coached at any club level and thus have gained no experience whatsoever of coaching. In theory at least, this means a coach could go from Level 1 to Level 3 in the course of one year. Quite ridiculous?
If the syllabi of the various courses are closely examined, it can be seen that there is a very definite need for revision and improvement. For example in Level 2, there is little correlation between the four suggested phases and the nine unit modules, and the modules themselves are very poorly defined, this being yet another reason for the very varying standards of awarded qualifications.
The coaching qualifications in European countries have been devised and developed over many years by very highly qualified and experienced coaches and it is possible to take coaching qualification up to degree level. . There are very well defined coaching progression routes that enable and, most importantly, encourage coaches to work in basketball and give them a means by which they can earn a living. This does not exist and has never existed in England.
Additionally in European countries, there is very close co-operation between the Association and the relevant Coaching Association, which is not the case in England where the BCA is almost totally ignored. 2
As an example, various surveys were carried out by a number of highly qualified coaches who were, at that time, members of the BCA. These surveys, together with reports outlining detailed recommendations to encourage coaches and develop coaching standards, and giving suggestions as to the content of courses, training programs, defining progression paths, and possible remuneration methods etc., were all submitted to the Association. Unfortunately no comments or replies were received back, and all the recommendations were almost totally ignored.
The European Basketball Associations and their particular Coaching Associations work extremely closely together in organizing courses, lectures, clinics etc., (many of which are obligatory). All coaches must be members of their relevant coaching association as well as holding the correct license from their Basketball Association to coach at any level.
To have coaches who can compare to those in Europe it is essential that a very radical overview of what is required by, and demanded from, all coaches, at all levels, is undertaken and to have any meaningful control over the performance and control of coaches, I would suggest that it should be mandatory for all club coaches throughout the county to be subscribed members of the BCA and to be permitted to coach only under the auspices of the BCA in conjunction with the Association.
The BCA, again in conjunction with the Association, would be responsible for the continual monitoring of all its member coaches, ensuring that all coaches have the required award, devising a quality course syllabus for each award level, monitoring the standard of courses to ensure equally assessed standards, and assigning course tutors and examiners.
At the moment there are no properly organized training programs for our national teams; rather, the various training programs are organized almost on an ad hoc basis as and when the coach and/or players might be available. There is little if any co-ordination between national squad training programs and the various clubs or league competitions. In the 35 years I have been coaching I have never once had a visit from a national team coach to scout players or discuss general topics. There must be a properly coordinated program, which not only monitors players, but creates a seamless flow of players through a properly constructed program of training and development.
It should be the responsibility of the BCA, as always in conjunction with the Administration, to define a suitable performance pathway for players from school to club (junior then senior) to National team squad to GB squad, to monitor the progress of these players, and to devise training program and determine when these training programs take place.
In return, and to ensure its responsibility to its coaches and to improving coaching standards, the BCA would (amongst other things) organize national conferences, camps, clinics, courses, lectures, discussion forums, workshops, seminars, assessments and (time/award) qualifications, as well as deciding what should and should not require obligatory attendance.
To conclude, if there is to be any significant improvement in our coaches and coaching standards, then there must be a radical overhaul of the EB’s coaching policy, structure, organisation and relationship with the BCA, as well as a major reorganisation and re-structuring of the BCA itself. 1
If this happens, and there is a much closer co-operation between the two Associations and a more ambitious and forward looking program is undertaken, then, with time, there is a possibility that English basketball will compete on a par with European basketball.
What do you think? Are you satisfied with the level of coaching in this country? What do you think needs to be done? Post a comment below and let us know!
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1 To qualify as a coach in the Republic of Serbia
The Serbia Association of Basketball Coaches (SABC), has about 1,300 members (with a country population of some 4,000,000 people !!)
Upon graduation from their Basketball Academy, students earn the title of Senior Basketball Coach.
“Coach Days” are obligatory for all junior category coaches;
The SABC organize a series of lectures for junior coaches around the country. Attending the lectures is mandatory and part of the licensing procedure.
“Assistance to the Coach” is a special program where, at the specific request of a coach, an experienced coach is sent to a club to offer professional help and advice, all at the expense of the Association.
The “Study Stay” is a stay at an NBA team pre-season camp or with some of the top NCAA colleges during pre-season practices.
The SABC has a well-equipped library and video collection with the most up-to-date titles concerning basketball development, all available to coaches.
No person may coach without a coaching license.
All coaches must pay a yearly license fee and applicable taxes to the SABC.
Coaches may obtain a white, blue and red license.
For a white license the coach has to be a member of the SABC and have finished secondary school studies. This license is intended for coaches leading teams in the regional competitions, summer league, and mini-basket. Coaches must attend all seminars and are continually monitored.
Coaches with a blue license may lead teams of the first B female league, Serbian league 1 and 2 and junior teams. The Coach must be a member of the SABC and have a current job as a basketball coach, possessing at least two years of coaching experience and attendance to all mandatory seminars, including the Basketball Clinic Belgrade. (A yearly coaching clinic which invites world class coaches from Europe, the NBA, and NCAA.)
The top license is red. Coaches with this license may lead teams of the First A league in the male and female competitions and clubs of the First B league group. Coaches must be a member of the SABC, have at least four years of coaching experience, and must attend the Basketball Clinic Belgrade and all other mandatory seminars.
To qualify as a coach in Spain
It is not possible to coach without a license, of which there are four levels, Initial First, Second, and Senior.
The cost of obtaining a coaching license varies between 200 euro and 800 euro, with clinics organized by regions and city at very regular periods.
The Spanish Federation of Basketball (FEB) has the responsibility for coaches and the Spanish Association of Basketball Coaches (AEEB) organizes clinics and conferences on a periodic basis. The AEEB has a membership of some 3,000 coaches.
A professional coach, that is a coach similar to Barcelona, Unicaja (Malaga) etc., can command a salary of between 3,000 and 1,000.000 euro, other lower division coaches might receive between 500 and 3,000 euro.
To qualify at the lower level, coaches must take obligatory subjects that include techniques and skill, management and administration, rules of the game, tactics and methodology, health, fitness and safety, basics of psychology, and legislation in the professional environment. The complete course requires a total of 37 hours plus 8 hours to complete a tutorial (4 hours) and an examination (4 hours)
The first level license requires the coach to take similar subjects at a more advanced level plus some additional subjects for a total of 219 hours. In addition there is a “Common Block” of subjects (4 in total) that require an extra 45 hours.
The second level license demands 280 hours of classes, including the “Common Block” and has in addition to the above subjects: Planning of games and sessions, Detection and selection of talent, Team leadership, Game observation, Fundamentals of Biology.
The senior level license requires 450 hours of classes, including Scouting, Introduction to statistics, organization of events, sociology, and research of new technologies, with the “Common Block” of subjects requiring an additional 110 hours.
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2 The BCA was originally founded in 1985, but in the early 90’s was taken over by the EB Association and lasted only for a period of three years before it became defunct. It was resurrected by a number of senior coaches in the late 90’s/early 2000 of which only one now remains.
Annual membership fees were charged, although membership was completely voluntary. In addition a grant was received from the Association and the Association also agreed to give a sum of money for every newly qualified Level 1 and Level 2 coach which only lasted for a two year period. For a short period it also had some sponsorship from Nike and Inprints.. There was a quarterly magazine and the BCA ran clinics and an annual coaches camp.
At present the BCA is arguably an Association in name only. It does not have any members (other than assuming all coaches are automatically (“virtual”) members, who do not pay membership fees). It has a small committee that does not meet, although it does occasionally discuss via e-mail.
The present chairman is the EB’s Officer for Coaching Development (!), which gives rise to possible Conflicts of Interest. It is not funded, and its relationship with the EB is such that it is now only responsible for organizing an annual coaching clinic, for which attendance is purely voluntary and not obligatory.
Roy Packham has been involved with English basketball for some 40 years , being the junior coach to the now defunct Crystal Palace for about 30 years, winning 5 National Titles and 4 National Cups and remaining the only junior team to go undefeated for two straight seasons. For many years he spent periods of time in the USA where he was lucky enough to learn from the likes ofBob Knight, Jimmy Valvano, Dean Smith and others. He is now retired.
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
An interesting read.
I am a secondary school teacher and I recently gained my Level 2 coaching qualification. Twelve of us took the course and ten of us passed. I personally found that my background in teaching helped; I had relatively few problems explaining the various drills and activities, and no problem passing the written test. However, my weakness is my ability to demonstrate some of the fundamentals – which is the exact paradox to which you refer, since how can I coach them without being able to demonstrate them (i.e. things like post footwork)? Having said that, I can’t imagine Phil Jackson teaching Kobe Bryant how to dunk, so it’s somewhat irrelevant. After all, passion and dedication to basketball are more important, I would argue, and many coaches lack that passion. Ten years ago, when I was a student, we struggled to find a teacher (let alone a coach) willing to open the sports hall for us once a week.
On a related note, I am also secretary of Oxfordshire Schools Basketball (which basically means I co-ordinate the school leagues). I am meeting the Oxfordshire Basketball Development Officer tomorrow morning to discuss how to improve grassroots basketball. We hope that, by promoting basketball in primary schools, some of the fundamental skills will be instilled in players at a much younger age. Meanwhile, hopefully this will encourage players to play basketball instead of football or rugby. I think that’s half the battle; promoting basketball to young players before they pursue other sports and interests.
It would help if the Oxford Teams played at National League Level!! Start there! Stop this CVL rubbish and get them competing.
My comment was based at the u13/14 level and not above.
Reference to the two previous comments; the standard of our junior basketball is very – poor. One of the main reasons is because of the way all the various junior divisions are structured and organized. I am hoping to publish an artilce in due course that suggests it is time, once again, that a proper, well-structured, truly National, and I repeat, National, League is commissioned.
I currently coach Torbay under 14s and coach within the South West Area Performance Centre.. Due to start me Level 3 in two weeks and to be quite frank, agree with what you say Roy.. Was an interesting read.
appertaining isn’t a real word
Coaching in the UK Needs a “Radical Overhaul” Roy Packham
I write in response to Roy Packham’s article.
England Basketball (EB) operates as it does, because of a state of apathy that exists throughout the membership. Coaches, clubs and individual members are heartily fed up of trying to change things. Knowing this EB is autocratic and totally non responsive, whenever any active member or club communicates with it.
EB has avoided significant change even though two national reviews Genesis and Mallin, have taken place recommended massive changes. Given a small movement towards their recommendations and we would have a governing body that we would not recognise today. Essentially coaches and clubs recognise this, feeling if research groups can’t change things, what is the point of trying?
Small wonder therefore, that people like me, become totally discouraged and disillusioned. I have written to Keith Mair (CEO) on numerous occasions via the Basketball Coaches Association (BCA) and the Sheffield Basketball Development Group (SBDG). The matters were important. BCA Survey Report – BCA Reorganisation of the Awards Scheme – Short Papers “What is the Future for Coaching in Basketball?” and Redistribution and Partiality – A Fairer Method for Sports Funding- BCA Recommends Professional Rates of Remuneration and a Coach Progression Structure. There were others, but I wish to keep this short. I did not receive any response to any of the letters and copies sent to him.
Perhaps they had little value, as far as he was concerned, even though we had had a wonderful response from coaches from all over the country and the letters and papers were done via a wide consultation process. That seems to suggest that EB is incapable of using simple communication skills and common courtesies.
The present CEO, Keith Mair, came to us from New Zealand, to an EB which had just had 6 weeks of work on its accounts, done by a team of accountants from Sport England, bringing them up to date and up to standard. He then kept the accounts in order as any reasonable accountant would do. Let’s give him credit for that!
He came here on a wave of expectation. What we needed was a person of vision, drive, energy, passion. A person with a dynamic profile who would take our sport forward. Coming from a country that was similar, but smaller than ours, with an excellent reputation in many sports, including rugby, rugby league, cricket, netball, hockey and basketball, we were hopeful, wishing for strong leadership. I leave you to decide what we got.
Our country has a big population base, compared with New Zealand, with lots of potential and athletic ability, and coaches who were willing to give their best in raising standards. Surely something would come from this? Surely the coaches could be harnessed, honed and appreciated, even recognised? I leave you to be the judge!
Thank goodness for British Basketball which has driven the profile of Team GB upward and onwards. They have fought long and hard and the results have been simply fantastic! The men’s and women’s teams have flourished and we have gained respect in Europe with the results in the Olympic qualification competitions.
My hope following the Olympics was that we install a legacy for sport, particularly basketball, the game for which I have so much passion. I still work hard to get youngsters, boys and girls playing mixed mini basketball, through my Hotshots Project which has over 3,000, equal numbers of boys and girls playing. But I refuse to get involved in wasting my time in general basketball issues, knowing that my efforts would be wasted on a governing body, that does not listen or seem to have the heart it needs to catapult basketball forward. Let’s not forget that Basketball is the second biggest sport on this planet!
Mike Brady
Senior Coach – Yorkshire Regional Coaching Officer 1984 – 2000
John Sage Award for Services to Coaching 1985 and 2000
I have read the article and all the comments with great interest and would like to contribute to the discussion and share with my thoughts. I am a Polish qualified basketball coach and PE teacher having been in England since 2006 doing sup-ply PE teaching, refereeing basketball games and looking for opportunity to be-come a basketball coach. Polish basketball may not be in the top of Europe but still it is ahead of England.
1. I qualified as a basketball coach and PE teacher in Poland in the early 1990s. To do so I had to do first one year course to become a basketball instructor and then two years course for basketball coaches. All participants at the course were former pro players and the course was on top of five years course for PE teach-ers. In Poland all coaches are usually PE teachers. At the same time I coached children being constantly monitored and mentored by senior coaches.
2. When I supplied in one of Essex schools I asked the head of PE department why all basketball games at school level finished with one team winning by 20, 30 or more points. He said that not all PE teachers can teach basketball, which stunned me completely. When I studied at uni I had to pass in theory and in prac-tice all sports that were in school curriculum. If you cannot teach a sport do not teach it at all rather than teach it badly. At this stage a good demonstration is ex-tremely important as children at school are not Kobe Bryants. This is when they either learn the movement properly or not. Unfortunately I have seen too many players with bad habits and no wonder if they learn either themselves or from older mates whose skills are none the better, which I witnessed in the same school. The idea of young sports leaders is great but they cannot be let coach on their own. Being a player and being a coach are totally different things. What I cannot understand is that a PE teacher has to have a degree to teach basketball in an English school but to coach basketball in the same school he/she needs to be level 1 coach, which requires only 2 days course.
That is why any teacher who puts a little time and effort in coaching basketball wins easily with other schools. I have just started coaching in a six form college in Cambridge and after two months training in the first match my team won by 40 points.
3. It seem to me that school managements are not interested in developing par-ticular sports to the level of excellence, instead offering a wide variety of sports, which is a dead end. And it is a shame considering how wonderful sports facili-ties most schools in England have. Of course there are basketball academies in England but they are all in six form colleges – I haven’t heard about basketball academies in secondary schools. Do we build a house starting with the roof?
4. It also seems to me that in England theory and paperwork are more important than practice. Looking for a basketball coach job I have hardly found any, let alone paid one but quite a few adds for a paid basketball development officer and what was funnier “,,, coaching qualifications in basketball desirable but not nec-essary…”. I would rather have this money spent for courses and development for PE teachers who want to develop basketball in their schools as they are the only ones who can make a difference not a person shuffling papers.
5. With such a variety of sports in schools it seems odd that the only sports I can see on the basic TV channels are football and more football and then a little rugby and cricket.
Tomasz Jadczak
Basketball Coach
CATS College
There is not much that can be added to Tomasz’s comments re coaching and, in particular, to coaching and playings standards in schools. In an article I question whether it is necessary to have any school basketball, although I am aware that would go against everything that is inherent in the philosophy of sport in schools in England. In other countries there is no schools sports per se. Children finish school, then go to various clubs to play and develop their sport under qualified coaches. Many so-called initiatives are presently being discussed at national and GB level, but whether or not these will take, and have, any significant effect on improving the overall standard of the game is, in my opinion, very highly questionable, and will in any case take years to have significant effect. The future of basketball is not dependent on present day senior players, if there is to be real development of the game it HAS to be driven by present day junior players and it is here that the most significant development, re-structuring and re-organozation must take place. At present there is absolutely nothing being done on a co-ordinated basis to develop the coaching and playing standard of junior basketball. It certainly would seem that the Associatio has only very limited interest in junior basketball, concentrating most of its effort on senior basketball. AS Tomasz says, when you build a house, you must first build a good foundation and start from the ground floor. You do not start from the roof and work down. Has anybody looked at the results of games in the present Junior League (boys and girls)? There are numerous games being won by 20/30 points or more on a regulat basis. Obviously a League that is providiing strong and challenging competition!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Roy, to question “whether it is necessary to have any school basketball” seems ludicrous. Without school basketball, the number of players who take up the sport would surely drop significantly. We need to promote the sport in this country not remove it from schools.
I understand your comment Will, and I fully expect to see more as it is a controversial opinion of mine. However, the problem does not seem to arise in other European countries, such as Spain and Serbia. Of course one reason might be that kids see basketball on television a lot of the time which never happens in England. I believe that schools in these countries do not play any “after school” sport. Certainly that is the case in Greece. Kids in the European schools will finish school, then have plenty of time to do homewor (?!!) and go and practice with their club. From my experience kids would come to practice at something like 8pm, having travelled sometimes a very long way (I had kids coming up from Dover to London), train for 2 hours and then have to go home late at night. Anyway, as I said, just a controversial opinion!!
Talking about what is better the school or club sport I would say both. I think the best way is when children can train basketball both in schools and in clubs, the more the better.
In Poland I used to coach 10 years old 3 times a week 90 mins practice session after school. They trained at the same time as a club team and played in school and club fixtures every weekend. The club organised for them additional summer and winter camps as well as tournaments. There was good cooperation and support between the club and the school to achieve both pastoral, academic and sports results. I, as a PE teacher and basketball coach, was the link between the two. In England I have not noticed such cooperation. Clubs and schools seem to be detached from each other.
Another difference between Polish and English clubs is that in Poland they were associated with professional sport so they were for the selected elite athletes and the facilities were booked only for them, whereas here they are for everybody who wants to come and pay. Asking club coaches how often they practice, they usually said once a week sometimes twice. And we were talking about junior teams 16, 17 years old. The reason for this is that they have to pay the sports hall hire, which is costly and the money usually comes from the parents. How about those children whose parents cannot afford?
Another point is that sports clubs are in urban areas but not so often in rural. Schools are everywhere. Coaching in the school sports hall does not cost anything and PE teachers are required to commit to extracurricular activities anyway. It just needs a passionate PE teacher with good skills and the know-how. They, however, need to be helped and supported not by a clerk or a marketing man but another experienced coach. As I said before I would give away a basketball development officer’s salary between PE teachers who are willing to attend development courses and commit to coaching in their schools.
Taking everything into account I think that in current circumstances in England, it is the school sport that could move basketball forward. I know that there is a demand for basketball in every school. There is only a shortage of PE teachers who could deliver good quality coaching and this is in my opinion the main issue that should be tackled by those in authority.
I would only to readily agree with Tomasz. I have said for many years that all the time we have schools basketball and club basketball there has to be far more and far better co-operation between the two. A school, or schools, should be associated with a club abd vice versa. Equally, there should be a much closer co-operation between the Schools Basketball Association and the EB- which has hardly been the case over the years.. Each wants to run itsa own independent Associaiton and there has always seemed to be almost no co-ordination between the two, If this was to change and both Associations were to “join forces” and work in conjuction with each other, then there might well be a major improvement in junior basketball.
My son plays basketball for the school and the under 19 team has won the national schools B competition, losing finalists in the A competition then quater finalists in successive years. The coach pulled players to the school which was also highly rated academically. All of a sudden AASE is brought in and another local school is awarded AASE status and the funding the school can find for the basketball coach is suddenly dramtically cut. Players who were going to commit to the school are now going to the AASE school. Only the AASE school was invited into the premier schools competition. So a school which was building a reputation as having a good basketball programme is cut off at the knees by EB who decide we will have AASE which will polarise the best players to one school. That’s one of the reasons why you get school games with wins of 30/40 points. You have a very good coach who now can’t get players to come to the school because it isn’t an EB AASE programme.