Belizean Basketball Athletes Prepare for Baseline Sports Recruitment
Baseline Sports out of the U.S. annually hosts a basketball event where young athletes from across the world would converge for an opportunity to be scouted by basketball clubs and universities. Last year, six Belizean athletes traveled to Las Vegas for the event and two were scouted. Unfortunately, the athletes did not sign for various reasons, but this year around, a group of fourteen plans to attend the June 2022 event being hosted once again in Las Vegas. News Five’s Duane Moody caught up with the group as they practiced at the Mexico Sports Center on Thursday night.
Duane Moody, Reporting
For the past three weeks, a group of talented players from Belize City have been training at the Mexico Sports Center – polishing their basketball skills and techniques as they prepare to attend this year’s Baseline Sports Recruitment Program in Las Vegas in late June. Rodvell Gladden who represents the organization here in Belize is readying the athletes for an opportunity to be selected.
Rodvell Gladden
Rodvell Gladden, Coach
“We have people from overseas – coaches and owners from overseas – that are coming in to see these guys and give these guys opportunities if they believe that they are good enough to play on their team.”
Duane Moody
“Now this is not the first time that Belize is going to one of these professional camps. Let’s talk about it.”
Rodvell Gladden
“We did it last year. It was a little bit of success because one of the guys got offered a contract. Unfortunately he didn’t go to his destination, but we are hoping that more contracts come out this year.”
Gladden says that this year, the numbers are up from six to fourteen athletes who will make the journey. The training has been intense, but it is to get the basketball athletes into top shape to compete against others who will be attending the pro camp. Gabriel Taylor was among the athletes attending once again. He shares his experience.
Gabriel Taylor
Gabriel Taylor, Basketball Athlete
“The level of basketball definitely different over there. The way how you could see the players are bred different, the way how dehn eat, the way how dehn talk about the game – the entire experience different.”
Duane Moody
“So how have you been preparing yourself for this?”
Gabriel Taylor
“Based on the experience we had the last time around, we kinda had conversation with the guys them, pick their minds, probe them a little more to try prepare ourselves and we kinda take weh we learn from them and apply it to what we already had going on.”
For Justin Bailey from Belize City, this is his first experience and he plans to make the best of it.
Justin Bailey
Justin Bailey, Basketball Athlete
“My coach di put we through some heavy work out some unusual work out. I’ve never been through this kind of work out before. So the man di bush we so we could get to the best condition and it’s a short time span that we got so ih di push we.”
Duane Moody
“Is this something that you have a passion for? Have you been playing basketball a long time?”
Justin Bailey
“Yes, I’ve been playing basketball a long time, from high school. But at the time when I was in high school, I didn’t get the opportunity to play on a basketball team so I didn’t get the exposure like how I wanted to from a young age.”
Taylor and Bailey are looking for similar opportunities.
Gabriel Taylor
“We di go for wah opportunity weh more along the lines where we could benefit from in terms of the language, the food, the culture weh dah something similar to weh we have going on rather than going to a new experience.”
Justin Bailey
“Right now it is a new experience for me because this is my first time going out. And by the invitation that I got, I was excited because finally I get a lee exposure. So now going across I di look fi seek opportunities and eventually I could get somewhere far.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
