A new collaboration between and Irish basketball club, an academy, and a third level college has been greenlit in Dublin. Emmet Ryan reports on the partnership between Killester BC, NABA, and DIT
Fresh off celebrating its 50th anniversary and being named Irish club of the year, Killester has entered an exciting new partnership to attract international talent to the club.
The club, based in Dublin, has 40 teams from underage boys and girls to Superleague men and women, a D=development squad of over a hundred, and one of the biggest Special Olympic sections in Ireland along with a top quality Wheelchair section.
Killester has linked up with the North Atlantic Basketball Academy (NABA) which is based in Cabra in Dublin and run by Dermot Russell. NABA has linked with Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and as part of its masters programme. NABA will be bringing in players from the US and Europe to study and play in Ireland.
“It is an exciting opportunity for all three organisations. We all hope to see future growth while providing an excellent pathway for players to continue
to enjoy basketball and furthering their education,” said Mark Grennell of Killester.
Niamh O’Callaghan, sports development officer at DIT welcomed the partnership. “This partnership between the three progressive organisations will ensure their respective basketball programmes will be more competitive in national competitions while providing valued community services in the Dublin 7 area where our new state of the art campus is located”
The students will study at DIT, play with Killester Men and Women and train in NABA’s high performance programme. Irish secondary school students are also facilitated in NABA’s full secondary school programme.
“NABA is delighted to bring together two well established organisations such as Killester Basketball Club and DIT. NABA’sprofessional recruitment and
high performance training services will ensure that the best available student/athletes are sourced and nurtured into both organisations for the upcoming season,” said Dermot Russell, CEO of NABA.
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