Take it to the hole!

My friend Cikku was feeling rather bemused. With the weekend coming up he still hadn't decided what to do in the afternoons.

Saturday and Sunday afternoons are usually basketball time for Cikku who is a great fan of the game but this weekend's programme is rather bland.

There are no league games for either the Women's National League or the Men's Division One while the MBA Shield for the Men's National League takes a break with the semi-finals to be played next Thursday.

Cikku had thought of trying to organise a pick-up game with some friends but he has a slight ankle injury and cannot take the risk of aggravating it any further. He thought about watching TV and that only put him in a greater state of panic.

Finally he reluctantly decided that he would have to sleep his way through basketball withdrawal that is until I came up with the ideal solution... Maltahoops!

Get online!

For those of you who have not yet surfed to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/maltahoops/ this is an open forum where people can express their thoughts about the state of the local game.

The discussions are usually very civil despite contributions from members of opposing clubs and some great ideas have already come out of the group. If you want to join go to the above site or email maltahoopsowner@yahoogroups.com.

Let the kids play!

One of the ideas that has come out of the group is that the area behind the main basketball court could be converted into a mini-court for children.

This area could be set up with three or four baskets, ideally with someone supervising the area. This would allow parents to watch the games without worrying what Ganni will be up to next and also prevent the stampede of children who rush onto the court at half-time.

While it is fun to watch the kids have a go at scoring a basket more often than not they bring a lot of dust onto the court.

Putting a foot down

Another comment that has often cropped up on the group is that the clubs need to sit down and carefully examine the disciplinary code of the Association.

To many, severe cases in the past years have ended up with ridiculously small penalties, which only encourage bad behaviour.

As a direct consequence, referees have to really put their foot down during games to establish a no-nonsense atmosphere. Someone who continually abuses a referee during a game should end up with a three or four game suspension and not a miserly fine that the club will pay!

Other tit-bits

Among the other topics discussed so far, youth development and the national team sector have come under close scrutiny. There is an ongoing poll about whether players should have a say in deciding rules regarding the registration of the same players.

So far 81 per cent have said yes although 63 per cent of these said the player first need to organise a representative association, perhaps some of the veteran players out there could take a look at this matter.

Finally, foreign experts are contributing to the group and this weekend part three of an interesting article Hard2Guard will be posted. This is a must for coaches and players alike.

If I was the president!

Every week a new subject is purposed on Maltahoops and this week the subject is If I was the president. Instead of asking people to criticise the current administration members are invited to propose a list of priorities that they would have if they ran the MBA.

The results could be interesting so why not put your fingers to a keyboard, get online, and contribute to what has so far turned out to be an interesting forum about Basketball in Malta.