Basketball Diaries - The news from this summer's trip to the Dallas Mavericks Basketball Camp!

During the long July break a group of our students travelled across the Atlantic to the USA to participate in the Dallas Mavericks Basketball Camp.

Here is a recount from one of the students - Jason Mndolwa (Year 11):

"The day before the trip we were more than excited! Every time I closed my eyes, I imagined myself on the court playing ball. I realized it was a dream when I started dunking! But dreams do come true though, right? We were to leave the next day and on our way to Nairobi where we met up with another group of people from Braeburn Garden Estate. We joined up with the other school and travelled together. Our flight was in the evening and we arrived around 12. Basically, we had to wait for about 5 hours till our flight leaves, but we were too excited to even care! The time came to board the plane and without even realizing it we took off. It was a long trip - it took about 22 hours to reach America. We were all exhausted but luckily the camp didn’t start till Monday and we arrived on a Saturday so basically we had time to rest. Everyone was preparing their kits and washing their shoes ready to show off and ball out on Monday. But, as Mr. Masudi always tells us: “It’s not all about the accessories that you wear - it’s all about the game”.

On the first day of the camp we all looked nervous. But after everyone got a hold of the ball, we all felt like we belonged there. The normal routine was: warm up, then we go up to the video room to learn the game after that we go back to the court to play ball till 4pm. This was the rotations for almost the whole week except for Friday where we had a tournament with the teams we were assigned to the first day of camp. Sadly, we lost in the semifinals, but as a team we kept our head up and stayed positive for the whole day. On the last day of the camp they gave out prizes and gifts to everyone. Some got individual prizes and others got group ones. Mr. Masudi had an amazing day planned for us for our last days in America. But, its Dallas and its summer, add those two together and we will get heat. We couldn’t go to the theme park the next day but instead we went to a trampoline park. We learned a lot from the camp in the past week. We thanked all our coaches and said our goodbyes to our other teammates and friends.

On the Sunday we went a women’s NBA game for the first time. It was the Dallas Wings that we were supporting. The effort that these ladies put in when playing ball shows us how much determination they have inside them to win just a game. At the end of the match we lost but the smiles in each of these ladies faces just show how much they still believe in themselves to pick up and keep working hard to be at the top. This day wasn’t just a day to have fun and watch an NBA game. It was also a day to learn how you must be when you lose a game and you still have to have sportsmanship. At the end of the day, we drove back to our hotel and kicked back to play some games and chill before flying home the next day.  

We all thank Mr. Masudi for making it a thrilling and exciting trip. I am hoping to go back next time more skilled and trained ready to ball out."