JUNIORS

Barking Abbey have strong links with the Leopards, with six of their players pulling on a first team uniform at various times last season.

As well as sending their key players to play for Leopards in Division One, the 2009/10 season will see Barking Abbey fielding a team in EBL Division Four. They also run a team in the Women's Division One.

Regional Institutes of Basketball (RIB) are a new initiative, created from collaborative work between British Basketball, Basketball Wales, England Basketball and Basketball Scotland.

The purpose of the Institutes is to increase the standard of players and coaches stepping up to Great Britain U20 and Home Nation U18 national teams.

The Barking Abbey School Basketball Institute will enable players to live and breathe basketball every day. Players will reside within student accommodation and concentrate on improving their academic and basketball abilities every day. The focus of the programme is the daily delivery of high quality, intensive individual training.

This announcement presents a unique opportunity for young players nearing the end of their high school years to pursue a basketball career here in Great Britain, without the need to leave home shores.

Barking Abbey School, in East London, becomes the first pilot Institute following a track record of producing Great Britain standard players including three current members of the Under 20 Women squad and two recent members of the Great Britain U20 men's squad.

Ron Wuotila, Head of Basketball Operations for British Basketball, said:"British Basketball is pleased that Barking Abbey School will be the first Regional Institute pilot. The staff and management at Barking Abbey School have produced a very good basketball environment, one that is an ideal setting to run this pilot. I look forward to working with them over the coming year."

Mark Clark, Barking Abbey School's Basketball Director, said: "We are really excited about the prospect of being the first British Regional Institute of Basketball. It is an endorsement of the programme we have developed here at Barking Abbey School and will help enable the talent we have in this country to fulfil its massive potential. To be part of this structure is a tremendous opportunity and a great responsibility that we are looking forward to."

Mark was assistant coach of the old Leopards when they won back-to-back BBL titles, and also head coach of Ware Rebels who merged with the Leopards Alive supporters’ group to form the new Big Cats. He is assisted at Barking by Lloyd Gardner who played for both versions of the Leopards as well as being a former assistant coach of the new Leopards.

The selection of a pilot Regional Institute of Basketball is a result of the collaborative work of the Performance Management Group (PMG), a joint initiative of the governing bodies for basketball in Britain set up to deliver the British Basketball strategic plan and with the vision of creating a world-class basketball development system for British athletes.

Each Home Nation is responsible for the identification of potential regional institutes in their country, with British Basketball endorsement given via the Performance Management Group.

During the next season, the Performance Management Group will implement a formal selection process for Regional Institutes of Basketball. This pilot will enhance the selection process by clarifying the key criteria for a successful institute.