Coaching the coaches for a better future

Teaching and coaching is like a recipe that one needs the right ingredients to make. That's the mantra Carlos Barroca holds close to his heart. Barroca knows how to work things differently, the senior director of basketball operations in the country doesn't train upcoming hoopsters, he trains the ones who train them.

For Barroca, who compares the learning process to cooking, he makes sure basketball coaches around the city get a taste of success at the two-day clinic of the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme in Mumbai.

The programme saw close to 200 PT teachers and basketball coaches turn up at Dominic Savio School (Andheri) in large numbers to receive training. "Everyone likes to go into detail but it's important to stick to the basics. You talk about the best players and coaches of the world. If you see their practice sessions, you will see what they do and what we do is the same. The main difference being the intensity and speed at which they do it. But it is basics, basics and basics," says Barroca, who spearheads the league's basketball initiatives in the country that include training local coaches and players, and executing programmes at the grassroots level across India.

Barroca's dossier on coaching involves warm-up exercises, drills with and without the ball, working on skills and technique. "Aspects like teamwork, sportsman's spirit are there as well. Team sport teaches one to work with others," says the 55-year-old.

For a grassroots initiative to flourish, it is important that no one is left out. Compared with the previous year, this year's programme saw nearly 100 municipal schools participating. With most of the teachers and coaches are attending for the first time, Barroca feels there's a lot that they can take back. "They are now in a position to change a child's life. When you teach, you are never working with the older generation, the future is in front of us and we all want to live in the future. Basketball is a game for all irrespective of the height. As long as you learn the right skills at the right age, which is what we're trying to do here, India will benefit a lot from the grassroots programme like this. There is so much talent out there. And, it's not about the kids. Seeing so many coaches together, you realise how connected these people are to basketball."

Darshana Raut, a PT teacher of a municipal school in Poisar, can't seem to thank Barroca enough. "Most of these programmes only cater to private schools but you can really see how badly our kids want to play when they get the chance. Our kids don't have the facilities but one of the main reasons they attend school is because they get a chance to play. Coaching clinics like these not only help the growth of the sport but also gives us coaches a whole lot of options to take back. We saw the way Barroca taught us through activities that kept the crowd engaged. If he could grasp our attention, we can achieve the same with our school children."

Barroca credits his African roots as the main reason for his innovative ideas. "I grew up in Mozambique. We didn't have proper baskets or courts. But if we wanted to play, we would find a way," he says.

Barroca travels the world helping the coaches. For the Portuguese, there is either a good coach or a bad coach. "A coach has to take care of two things. One is the people as you can't have a team without them. You have to take care of them as they will, in turn, take care of you. The other thing is details. When you take care of the details with love, everything will be okay. Basketball is no different. A good coach for me is a person who works for others and works on details, getting the best out of his team. A bad coach is one who is selfish and doesn't realise that his output isn't resulting in the team getting any better."

Barroca has been associated with the game for the past 35 years. "I fell in love with the game when I was five. People ask me why I am doing this. The feeling of building more bridges, reaching out to more people and learning the values of sport and skills of life with them. These are what make me feel like a millionaire. I have 35 years of experience of coaching, broadcasting, holding clinics around the world. It doesn't matter what I know. What matters is the ability I have to spread the message," said Barroca, who served as the head coach of Portuguese Basketball Federation and the national U-20 squad, and has joined NBA's Basketball Without Borders programme as a guest coach since 2006.