Basketball tryouts draw national program hopefuls

From young athletes with international playing experience to those who have never competed for Guam or had the island’s name proudly emblazoned across the front of a jersey, 107 teenagers attended the Guam Basketball Confederation national teams open tryouts Saturday at the University of Guam Calvo Field House. “We hope to identify talent year-round, but this was a focused opportunity to get everyone at once and talk to the young basketball community,” said Guam Basketball Confederation President EJ Calvo. “We'll continue to look at prospects and really continue investing in the youth, the young basketball players on Guam, that can continue growing this program. We're planning for the future.” Under the watchful eyes of Guam’s national team coaches, and with Calvo keeping the three-hour event running smoothly, children hoping to earn coveted spots on U13, U14, U15 and U16 rosters participated in real-time drills and live-game simulations. “It definitely is prideful to play for Guam,” said 16-year-old Colin Baker, a player with prior national team experience. Baker told The Guam Daily Post that his goals are to play college hoops and, in the future, join the Guam Men’s National Basketball Team. On the court farthest from the illustrious gym’s main entrance, Men’s National Team roster member Mark Johnson Jr. put participants through a series of drills. As children of various age ranges rotated through his court, Johnson, a former standout basketball player at St. Paul Christian School, instructed and watched for undiscovered talent. “This is a really good turnout today, a lot of talent,” Johnson said. “So what we've been trying to do is bring everybody together, the top talent on Guam, and bring our best teams and represent against the other countries, against the other international competition.” For those new to the island or unfamiliar with Guam’s basketball prowess on the world stage, where the men’s basketball team - from the tiny island that is the largest of the Mircronesian Islands - boasts a No. 73 world ranking, the first of three planned tryouts helped coaches identify talent, which will strengthen the program’s foundation. “We wanted to also get everybody together, let them know that we're training year-round,” Johnson said. “We also have a sports academy in Tiyan that we've been trying to train players out of," he said, adding that he is “excited to see the talent that we're going to have for future teams.” Johnson, who has been a member of Guam’s national program for three years, said playing for Guam is an honor and he hopes to stay with the team as long as he can. While Johnson and the other coaches spent only a few hours critiquing and coaching, the former Warriors star left the athletes with a message. Knowing firsthand that the bulk of training takes place out of the spotlight, away from coaches’ watchful eyes, he wants the children to understand that potential national team members need to be self-starters and self-motivated. “Work hard,” he said. “A lot of the work that they're going to be putting in, obviously, we're not going to be seeing - it's going to be the workouts they put in outside of here. Keep training in the offseason, keep training in-season and your work will eventually show.” “If you think you’re going to come here during tryouts and show something that you haven't been putting in the work, it's probably not going to happen,” Johnson said.
Courtesy of: postguam.com