Winning Shots for the Caxton College Basketball Club

New coaches are giving a boost to this basketball team in a season where health and safety are paramount

Basketball at Caxton College is off to a running start, and the numbers leave no room for doubt. It’s one of the fastest-growing sports at the British school located in Puçol. The number of players is increasing in both the co-curricular activity and the competition sports club, even during this season made more difficult due to the health crisis. Far from discouraging pupils and parents, the circumstances are reinforcing the already strong foundations of this sport at the school.

Confidence is the key, as parents must be confident that the safety of their children will always be a priority, and that the necessary health and risk prevention measures will be taken. Once this is ensured through the implementation of strict protocols, basketball has become an excellent alternative to the sedentary leisure activities that unfortunately became too common in society during the months of confinement.

‘Regaining enthusiasm is fundamental’, assured Ana Belén Álvaro, sport co-ordinator for the competition Caxton College Basketball Club. ‘Boys and girls have experienced a very difficult situation, both physically and emotionally. Through basketball, we want them to get excited again. We want them to feel the desire to succeed and to push themselves again’, the club’s director added.

The human element is a deciding factor. The coaching staff of the Basketball Club and the co-curricular activity combine experience and youth in equal measure, and for this season, new coaches will also be working to overcome the challenges the team has taken on. One of these is Isaac Palacios, a teacher and a Master Coach of Basketball, the highest coaching certification in Spain. Formerly manager of the Valencian Regional team and professional teams such as Valencia Basket or CB Claret, this coach has now joined the Caxton College club. The team will also boast two additional coaches, Anabel Mateo and Raquel Miranda, who are both still active players in the Second Women’s Division, the silver level of women’s basketball in Spain.

These new members join the previously established coaching staff made up of Liam McGuirk and Amparo Calabuig, as well as Ana Belén Álvaro, who will be coaching the club’s first team of very successful players. Among this team’s successes was last season when they qualified for the finals before competition was stopped due to the health crisis.

This will be an atypical season. But at Caxton College, the challenge has been accepted with ambition. Protocols may change, but what will never change is the passion for combining education and sport in a healthy environment and with top level coaches. The players are all ready to enjoy this new 2020-2021 season.