The concept of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, as outlined in the New Testament, is a profound testament to the intricate and transcendent relationship between humanity and the divine. These gifts are not merely symbolic tokens; they are transformative powers that enable individuals to transcend their ordinary limitations and align themselves with a higher purpose. To truly grasp the magnitude of these gifts, one must delve into their biblical foundations and understand their psychological and spiritual implications. In 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, the Apostle Paul provides a detailed enumeration of these gifts: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish betwee
Basketball is growing in popularity here in Sydney and I've observed that there is an increase in number of boys (and girls) trying out for representative playing spots across all associations well at least it looked that way for the 3-4 associations that I know about.
January has started and most associations have finished their tryouts for the 2022 Waratah Junior and Senior season. The final rosters are now being published in social media to the delight of those that have secured spots but relatively opposite to those that didn't secure them.
Well, of course, ideally the expectation of most is that representative basketball is for the most talented basketball kids but sadly it is not always the case. Sadly, even in first world countries, politics and economics still plays a significant role in tainting everything even in the world of junior basketball. I hear that its not just basketball but also other junior sports like soccer, rugby, netball, etc.
Yes, you heard me right. Playing at this level of elite basketball costs a lot. Depending on the association, the cost could range between 600 to 1500 AUD for the entire season per player. The parent coughs up 100% of these costs though there are basketball programs that do award grants for the skilled but talented but you have to apply for that and only has limited slots.
A season could be as little as 10 weeks and if your team is good enough, you'll get invited or you qualify for additional tournaments which are oftentimes held far away (meaning additional travel and accommodation costs) so the parents have to really be ready to part away from their hard earned cash just to be able to play representative basketball.
The issue of politics affecting the sport is less obvious and difficult to prove but one can observe it. Although most would just be sour-graping to be honest but there a few rare instances when it really gets very obvious. And it is not limited to just representative basketball but also with some of the BNSW programs like HPP, DAP, D-League and etc. Again, it is difficult to prove and yes other parents are really just bitter their kids didn't get chosen but you can hear comments about that BNSW already knows which kids will get those spots even before they touch the courts.
Because of just these couple of reasons, some really talented kid will have a chance of missing out a good chunk of his or her junior basketball days but it doesn't necessarily mean that we'll miss out on the next Aussie NBA star. Most of the kids that play junior basketball won't make it to Youth League. It will be interesting to find out the percentage but I bet ya that it ain't that great. So, with that, is junior reps basketball really worth it?