Following the inaugural two day Jumpstart skills clinic held by the NBA and Digicel in association with the BBYF, five U16 athletes were chosen to travel to Trinidad and Tobago for an elite camp.
Caelin Peters, Mykal Glasglow, Rye Ahronson, Yontz Sutton and Jorel Smith will participate in an intensive camp, where they will compete with the best athletes throughout the Caribbean to have the opportunity to further travel to New York City to attend a NBA game and tour the NBA stadium.
Chosen by the BBYF and NBA Coaches Chris Ebersole and Adrian Alvarez, the young athletes were not only judged on their athletic abilities but also their attitude, dedication and ability to interact with their fellow players.
All of the participants showed advanced skills and admirable personal qualities and benefited from the expert coaching under the program. The five chosen boys selected for the extraordinary opportunity to progress to the elite camp were the “best of a great group.”
During the closing awards ceremony, Ebersole and Alvarez encouraged all of the players to keep working hard to reach their goals and complimented them on their devotion to the sport and high levels energy through-out the clinic.
The wider life skills benefits of the program were also referenced by Premier Michael Dunkley when he attended the grass roots initiative alongside Senator Vic Ball during the session hosted by Mount Saint Agnes.
Julian Burton, Digicel Commercial Director, stated, “Every participant of the Digicel NBA Jumpstart program deserves huge credit for further highlighting the extraordinary talent that Bermuda contains. Thanks to the wider relationship Digicel has built with the NBA, we were delighted to bring this program to Bermuda and provide the opportunity for that talent to be showcased and progressed. Congratulations to everyone involved and especially the five athletes progressing to the elite camp.”
Charles Peters, BBYF President and Director, stated “The BBYF were glad to support Digicel and the NBA with the JumpStart Clinics and look forward to being a part of this annual event.
Spending time with the coaches from the NBA was a valuable resource for our local coaches and players. The five who were selected played very well during the two day event, and there were several others who could have easily been selected. One of the things that separates our players from players all over the world is our children’s character. This is testament not only to the parents on the island but also the local coaching community who commit themselves in their programmes and donate their time day in and day out. The BBYF would also like to make sure that we do not forget to give a special thanks to Cedarbridge Academy for hosting the coaches’ clinic, and especially Coach Rickey Watts who made that possible.”
The young athletes will attend the elite camp in Trinidad and Tobago to represent Bermuda from September 26th - 28th.
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