Great Scot April 2019 Great Scot_156_April_2019_Online | Page 55

Scotch boys in the
basketball heartland
Scotch’s 2018/19 Basketball Tour (26 December to 15 January) was
a major success, greatly enhancing our basketballers’ appreciation
and comprehension of American culture, history, and sport. It also
placed the boys right in the heartland of the world’s greatest game –
basketball! – and exposed them to experiences and training methods
that will not only develop individual and team skills, but do so in highly
competitive and often demanding situations.
We hope that our players will return to the Scotch program
invigorated and ready to apply their knowledge fully to our domestic
program.
During the tour we visited many schools and places of historical
interest. Starting at Memorial Day School in Savannah, Georgia, we
enjoyed homestays and four games, fine weather and iced tea, and the
best of southern hospitality with old friends. It took some time for us to
shake off jetlag but we managed a breakthrough win to start our tour
on the right foot.
From Savannah, we travelled to Charlotte, Columbia and Raleigh
in North Carolina, Richmond in Virginia, Buckeystown in Maryland,
Washington DC, and New York City. We visited Jefferson’s Monticello
plantation, Arlington National Cemetery, and Times Square. We
watched two NBA games and attended an impressive training session
at Davidson College; enjoyed tours of the University of North Carolina,
Duke, and Virginia Commonwealth University’s basketball centres;
and attended a college game in New York. We stopped in Hawaii on
the way home and toured Pearl Harbour and the battleship Missouri.
Shopping was another highlight for some, and loud Hawaiian shirts
were remarkably popular.
Along the way the boys played their hearts out and managed
three strong wins, dealt with sprains and jet lag, enjoyed griddles and
waffles-chips, fast food of all types, and American generosity. We
played at Junior Varsity level, but perhaps our best performance was
against a varsity team, which had to work hard to secure the win. The
boys were quite magnificent and embraced every challenge, learned
a great deal about the game, and showed serious improvement within
the period.
It was a pleasure to be part of this great tour, and I wish to thank
Anil Patel, for his commendable enthusiasm and humour, and our
coach, Randy Shanklin, for giving so much to the boys as well as to
the staff. What a great sporting and cultural experience it was for all
of us: our view of the United States will be shaped by what we have
seen and done.
ROB HORTIN – TIC, BASKETBALL
www.scotch.vic.edu.au Great Scot
55