Basketball, a different sort of growing

What in the world is the connection between a good wine and a good basketball player? Well, as Elma van Graan, the assistant wine-maker at Solms-Delta wine estate said after the harvest, “A good wine is not only made, it is also grown.” Same applies to basketball. Just ask Aggrey Ofula and Kyle Ray, the two basketball coaches funded by the Delta Trust to develop the game at the schools and institutions of the Cape Winelands (prisons included). They will enthusiastically tell you the story of the growth and change in the life of one of the prisoners at Drakenstein Correctional Services. He had his sentence reduced from life imprisonment because of a dramatic change in his personality and attitude to the world after taking up basketball.

Or the story of the disabled young people at the Ligstraal School for Special Children in Paarl. In the space of a couple of months their team improved so much that they won a tournament at Drakenstein, beating four other teams in the process. How is that for growing a good vintage? Similar stories abound.

It is gradually dawning on all of us why Richard Astor decided to throw the Delta Trust’s weight behind basketball. He noticed that sport in South Africa, like so much else, is divided up between the races. Soccer for the Blacks, rugby for the Whites and Coloureds, and so on. Basketball, however, is ‘owned’ by no-one. And yet it is so COOL …

So Richard appointed Aggrey (a tall Kenyan) and Kyle (a lanky Yank) to get a Winelands Basketball League going, and to keep it running by coaching at local schools with courts, many of them installed by the Delta Trust. This takes up most of Aggrey and Kyle’s time. On May 16th they ran a whole-day workshop for all the coaches in the Winelands. They are also kept busy arranging courses for referees and training officials in the details of time-keeping and the finer points of the rules of the game.

So far they have succeeded in establishing 11 outdoor basketball courts in the Winelands and one indoor court at Drakenstein Correctional Services. The latest project in the pipe-line is a state-of-the-art court at Bridge House School which will also be funded by the Delta Trust. But charity begins at home, and the 2010 Solms-Delta Estate basketball team is off to a great start. After one tournament (with 3 more to go) the Solms-Delta boys are on the top of the standings, with Simondium Primary School in 2nd place.

Aggrey is particularly excited by the potential of Lowen, a student at the Paarl School of Skills, who at the age of 17 is showing signs of international-level abilities. But, says Aggrey, “The most important point is that Lowen is still such a well-behaved and humble boy that we have also given him extra training as a referee and a coach.” This illustrates the attitude that Kyle and Aggrey have to basketball. It not only teaches young people game-skills but also life-skills.

It has been shown over and over that success on the sports field, whether it be in athletics or cricket, or yes, basketball, is an excellent predictor of later academic and career success. Like a good wine, young lives can be made and grown, and then matured into notable successes. A little tender loving care is all that is needed.

By Prof John van Zyl & Aggrey Ofula

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