The National Basketball Association (NBA) introduced curriculum-based online basketball sessions as a part of the NBA Basketball Schools, a network of basketball development programs across the globe open to international male and female players between the age of 6 and 18.

Following the recommendation of state and central authorities regarding the developing situation related to the coronavirus in India, the NBA suspended all on-ground basketball development programming in India including sessions at the NBA Basketball schools.

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With the available flexible online learning solutions technology affords, the NBA decided to introduce curriculum-based online basketball sessions.

“All work and no play makes jack a dull boy! Children sitting at home are constantly on the lookout for physical activity. Our online sessions serve as a perfect platform giving them a chance to brush up their skills and not lose touch with the game, all from the comfort of their homes. The drills are designed in such a way that it will keep the kids active in a fun way,” said Marc Pulles, Basketball Operations team leader, NBA India.

A good 17 of the 24 partner schools in India have joined this initiative with two sessions every week hosted by two coaches for 12-15 participants.

“A typical session starts with a warmup, then some ball-handling drills, form shooting work, and defensive work. We finish up with a group discussion on a basketball-related topic and end with usually assigning the participants some videos to watch and give homework to do such as form shooting and show gratitude to your parents etc.,” explained Marc.

For 12-year-old Saishaa Patel from Mumbai the online sessions offered by the NBA has helped her cope with the boredom of being indoors. “I have continued to train in basketball via online classes conducted by the NBA Basketball Schools. It has helped me in stay in touch with my peers and teachers and also to keep in touch with my favourite sport. I am thankful for these sessions which have helped me stay on my feet,” said Saishaa of Jamnabai Narsee School, Mumbai.

Last Thursday, the NBA Academy India’s Achintya Krishna joined the session and shared his experience with the participants. For the next few weeks, Harsimran Kaur, Amaan Sandhu, Siya Deodhar and Pranav Prince will join the sessions to motivate the aspiring ballers to take up this sport through their stories.

“The NBA Basketball Schools online session is a great way to keep students on their feet and in touch with basketball. It was a great experience to talk to the kids and share my story on how I got selected into the NBA Academy India. I hope I could inspire them to consider basketball as a potential career,” said Achintya who is currently back home in Bengaluru for his end-of-term break.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has brought the entire world to a complete halt and the sporting arena is no exception. Almost all sporting tournaments around the world including the NBA season have either been pushed back indefinitely or have been cancelled.

Even the world’s biggest sporting festival- the Olympics was postponed by a year and would now be played in 2021.

The virus has so far infected more than 29,00,00 people globally while claiming over 2,00,000 lives.

There is still no sure shot treatment of the virus and social distancing, self-isolation and maintenance of hand hygiene remain the only potent weapons to protect oneself from contracting the infection.

(With inputs from IANS)