Youth Basketball Guyana scores with Haynes Foundation

By Natasha Waldron Anthony

The Haynes Foundation will fund the creation, design and maintenance of the website of the Youth Basketball Guyana program, www.youthbasketballguyana.com.

The program was launched in Guyana on Saturday, 29th January.

This non-profit organization is headed by Guyanese twins Patrick and Paul Haynes of New Jersey, USA, who say the foundation is proud to partner with the organization in Guyana to launch the website, which is designed to teach the fundamentals of basketball and offer the youths boundless possibilities through information technology.

Paul Haynes noted thus: “The Youth Basketball website will be an interactive breakthrough website which would help us and the players to access unlimited resources to help their game, both on and off the court, so they can be role models.” Through the program, the youths will be taught how to interact with their elders, the art of public speaking, and the etiquette of the game. Moreover, they will be privy to training materials and DVDs to improve their game. “It is going to be a continuous improvement from here on,” Paul said.

Meanwhile, Haynes told Guyana Times International that the motivating factor to assist Youth Guyana Basketball is the need for structure in that area. “There is no structured program, everyone is interested in having a tournament…I would like them to be better citizens for their country and themselves and family. I think this program is going to give them all the potential tools of being a better person. Youth basketball is not just playing basketball, it is about having good grades, doing well in school, keeping your body active, having the life skills to be an asset to your environment, and that is what we are trying to focus on.”

He is adamant that playing basketball for money at the junior level hurts rather than helps the player, since scholarship programs exempt players at that level who earn money through the sport. He also believes the need for higher education must be cultivated in the junior players, since “85 per cent of the players have not been to the University of Guyana…we can have a new intake of students into this program every year. They must finish UG and come out with a degree,” Haynes told this publication, adding that high school diplomas “will not cut it.”

The Haynes Foundation will also fund home-and-away uniforms for the junior national team, both male and female. The foundation is currently looking at the possibility of providing footwear for the players, since Guyana is the only International Basketball Federation (FIBA) member whose players use NBA balls. The foundation is holding discussion with several organizations, including the manufacturers of the FIBA balls, to provide those balls to the junior team.