The squeak of running shoes could be heard from the gymnasium at the St. Paul Elementary School on Nov. 25, as some of the area’s youngest basketball players warmed up to play their first ever game.
The event marked the culmination of months of basketball development administered by Kathleen Gerlinsky, under the umbrella of the Steve Nash Youth Basketball program.
“They draw up the whole program and they send it out, and you literally just draw the kids in,” Gerlinsky said of the national initiative, which was new to St. Paul this year. “Actually, it’s really based on life skills. They really try to push communication and outside components. It’s not just your life on the court; it’s how your life on the court is the same as life in general. It’s really neat.”
Since about mid-September, the group has been meeting and working through skill developing drills in order to learn the game the right way. Some of the participants – made up of Grade 4 and 5 students from the elementary school – were playing the game for the first time, giving coach Gerlinsky the unique task of building skills from scratch.
“Pretty much just the feel of the ball,” Gerlinsky said of the first steps of development. “It’s pretty much just developing those natural instincts that they want – dribbling, and then just refining.”
She went on to add that the skill of dribbling comes more naturally to some of the young athletes, prompting her to find ways for the more advanced players to develop, while not moving too quickly for the others.
“That’s when you start developing your left hand,” she said.
The program costs the players about $50 to register, and every student takes home their own jersey, basketball, and hours and hours of on-court development.
Everything led up to the inter-squad game that was played between the group’s 14 players on Nov. 25, when parents and family members were able to watch the players perform.
“It’s really nice to have the game opportunity so they can see what areas of improvement are needed,” Gerlinsky said. “You learn that in a game.”
The overall goal was to spark an interest in basketball at a young age, in the hopes that the players will continue on with the sport. Gerlinsky herself was impressed with the program, and the results she saw in her players.
“I’ve already told the kids that it’s happening again next year,” she said.
Gerlinsky also helped run a separate basketball camp over the weekend, attracting young athletes from elementary to high school aged.
