The
U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has
invited basketball coaches Junior Mmoloke and Tumi Ramocha, to be part of a
South African delegation participating in a basketball Sports Visitor Exchange
Program, taking place March 8-19, 2012, in Washington, D.C.
Both
Mmoloke from Lebone High School and Ramocha from Keledi High School are coaches
in the NBA Royal Bafokeng Basketball Program, a grassroots development program
established in 2010 in partnership with the NBA. They were to take
advantage of this learning opportunity abroad, aimed at empowering and
educating local coaches.
Technical
Director and Head Coach of the NBA Royal Bafokeng Sport Program, Joby Wright
handpicked 10 potential candidates for the exchange program, from which the
final two were selected by the U.S. State Department.
As
part of the two-week program, the coaches are meeting with U.S. sports
professionals, work with young American athletes at local schools, participate
in a NBA coaching clinic and conduct teambuilding and injury prevention
activities in the Washington, D.C. area. The group will conclude their program
in Nashville, Tennessee where they will watch regional basketball games and
participate in Special Olympics sessions.
This
event marks the fourth Sports Visitor Exchange Program between South Africa and
the United States. In 2006, South African soccer players attended the Youth
World Cup; in 2008, a delegation of South African baseball coaches came to the
U.S. for training and clinics and in May 2011, South African female soccer
players attended the Women’s World Cup.
Sports
diplomacy builds on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s vision of
“smart power,” embracing the use of a full range of diplomatic tools - in this
case, basketball - to bring individuals together in order to foster a greater
understanding of societal norms and cultures.
Mmoloke, for
whom it is his first trip away from the African continent, is excited about
this opportunity, saying “Firstly, I am hoping to use this experience to learn.
The United States has successful programs that I would like to bring back and
implement at Primary School level because in order to get the best out of
athletes you need to groom them early, while also educating them about
lifestyle, health and nutrition.”
Having been
involved with teaching children with hearing disabilities in schools around Brits
and Ga-Rankuwa in his native South Africa, Mmoloke is eager to take part in the
Special Olympics program to further help children progress in the sport of
basketball.
Ramocha, a
female coach originally from Krugersdorp, never thought she would get an
experience like this so early in her coaching career. “I am happy that the
selectors saw my potential and believed in me enough to give me this
opportunity, it’s a dream come true,” she said. “I am particularly interested
in progressing my coaching career with the goal of coaching senior women’s
teams in the future and this experience will teach me new skills and drills I
can utilize back home.”
NBA Bafokeng
Technical Director, Joby Wright has high expectations for the coaching duo,
believing that they will benefit enormously from being exposed to basketball at
the highest levels and is hopeful they will return to South Africa as better
coaches, equipped to share their experiences with local coaches here at home.
“They need to
use this experience to take notes and photos, to interact with people and ask
questions of the people they meet. You can’t beat an awesome life experience
like this and it can only make you a better person and a better coach. They are
going to be exposed to things they have never seen before and this will broaden
their thinking.”