The City Of Leeds Basketball Club were honoured to be invited to lead a basketball performance training session for Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s elite athletes.
The Men’s first team were put through their paces by COLBC & Basketball England Performance pathway Coach Ryan Weir, who is currently working with both the Aspire programme and the Super-Regional performance teams.
Within the session, the Yorkshire lads were taken through skill development exercises based around fundamental elements of the game, such as ball handling, passing and shooting, before testing those skills in conditioned games and match play.
Alex Donnelly, YCC Strength & Conditioning Coach was full of praise after a change-up in the pre-season routine for his athletes:
“The aim was to get the lads to do something a little different in regards to a change of scenery away from cricket, while still getting an exercise stimulus at the end of a tough week in pre-season. Having seen what the city Of Leeds Basketball Club does across the city, I contacted them to see if they could put on a session to show us the skill and demands of basketball.
We had the pleasure of being taken through a session by coach Ryan Weir. He took us through a series of drills before moving on to shooting and then scrimmages. Myself and the team thought the session went really well. It was engaging, fun and great for topping up our fitness levels during the pre-season. I’d recommend anyone outside the sport to give it a try and use the platform COLBC has built to do it.”
COLBC Director Matt Newby shared Alex’s sentiments following a really positive day on court:
“Opportunities to work with other sporting clubs within Leeds & Yorkshire are always an exciting proposition for us. The fabric of sport in the city is incredibly strong and to work with, and alongside elite players in any sport is a privilege. The Yorkshire Cricketers engaged wholly in the session and Coach Weir delivered exciting and diverse content, which they embraced wholeheartedly. We would like to thank Yorkshire Cricket for the opportunity, and we wish them all the best in their preparations for the upcoming season.”