[W]indermere School U19 Boys’ Basketball Team has enjoyed its most successful year to date, winning both the Barrow U19 Boys’ Basketball League and the Cup Competition.
The students at Windermere School have been playing basketball for a number of years, but this year everything came together. All the hard work and practice finally paid off. Not to mention a training session with some of the players from the Manchester Giants Basketball team.
Earlier this year, Windermere School welcomed some of the Manchester Giants team to the Lake District for an afternoon of coaching sessions.
Students from all age groups enjoyed the sessions, and the opportunity to develop aspects of their game. But it was the U19s who really benefitted from the additional coaching.
The team has been travelling to the Hoops Centre in Barrow every Wednesday evening, from November through to April, participating in some highly competitive matches against teams from Barrow Sixth Form College, Furness College and Ulverston, amongst others.
Losing only one of their matches, the boys dominated the league, which guaranteed them a semi-final berth in the Cup Competition, where they enjoyed a comfortable victory against the Criminals.
The final against Ulverston proved to be a tougher challenge, especially as a number of players were missing through illness or due to exams, but despite a close first half, the team ran out winners by 44 points to 25.
Claire Davies, who teaches PE at Windermere School, said; “This has been a fantastic season of basketball for Windermere School. The boys have really put their all into training and it’s paid off in the competitive matches they’ve played. The boys thoroughly enjoyed learning some new techniques from the Giants, and clearly they’ve put them to good use. Well done boys.”
Dan Reid, Head of PE and Sport at Windermere School, was full of praise for the Giants, adding; “We’re very grateful to the Manchester Giants for helping us out with some additional coaching sessions. They were fantastic with the students and everyone who was able to attend will have learned something from the sessions. They also took part in an exhibition match in the sports hall with our U19 team, which drew quite a crowd and was packed full of three-pointers and slam dunks. It was a great afternoon and one I hope we can repeat in the future.”
