The Amateur Basketball Academies (ABA) has intensified its drive to strengthen grassroots basketball development in the North-East with the successful completion of a coaching clinic for basketball coaches in Yola, Adamawa State.

The two-day programme brought together more than 20 coaches drawn from different Local Government Areas across Adamawa, providing participants with an opportunity to improve their coaching knowledge, exchange experiences and explore practical approaches to identifying and developing young basketball talents.

The clinic is part of ABA’s broader nationwide coaching development initiative, which has previously taken the organisation to Abuja, Minna, Makurdi, Taraba and other locations as it seeks to build a stronger coaching ecosystem around grassroots basketball.  

The initiative is led by ABA President and Founder, Professor Lucky Aliyu Abubakar, a Deputy Comptroller of the Nigeria Customs Service and former basketball player, whose organisation has placed coaching education and talent development at the centre of its grassroots strategy.

Abubakar has consistently stressed that the future of Nigerian basketball depends on creating structured pathways through which young players can be discovered, properly trained and eventually exposed to higher levels of the game.  

Speaking during the Yola programme, Abubakar called for greater unity among basketball coaches in the North-East and advocated a scientific and pragmatic approach to rebuilding the sport in the region.

“Basketball is fading in the North-East, and we at ABA will not allow it to die,” he said, while outlining a plan to discover talents, nurture them from the state level and create pathways towards the national team and international stage.  

The clinic focused not only on technical coaching but also on the wider responsibilities of coaches in youth development, including mentorship, discipline, leadership and creating an environment where young athletes can combine sporting development with education.

One of the instructors, FCT Basketball Head Coach and former national junior team coach Emmanuel Odah, challenged coaches to understand that their responsibility goes beyond teaching players how to play the game.

Odah emphasised commitment, organisation, care and humility as essential qualities for coaches working with young athletes, stressing that consistency is critical to long-term development.  

Other ABA coaching instructors included Head of Technical Coach Adeka Daudu and Coach Alexander Anyebe Ujoh, who contributed to sessions addressing coaching methodology and the relationship between coaches and the young players entrusted to their care.  

Participants expressed satisfaction with the programme, describing the clinic as an opportunity to broaden their knowledge, learn new approaches and establish stronger connections with fellow coaches across Adamawa State.

The involvement of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Adamawa State Chapter, throughout the programme also provided media visibility and highlighted the role of sports journalism in documenting grassroots initiatives and bringing their impact to a wider audience.

For Adamawa, the intervention comes at a time when stakeholders are seeking ways to revive the state’s basketball culture and create more opportunities for young players emerging from schools, academies and community courts.

ABA’s philosophy goes beyond organising competitions. Its stated development model is built around talent discovery, nurturing, growth and development, with the eventual objective of presenting players capable of competing at the highest level.  

The organisation has also linked its grassroots programme to academic and character development, maintaining that young athletes should be prepared not only for sporting careers but also to become responsible and educated members of society.  

The conclusion of the Yola coaching clinic therefore represents another step in ABA’s expanding grassroots programme, with the organisation continuing to move its coaching education model across different parts of Nigeria.

With sustained investment in coach education, youth mentorship, structured competitions and community-based programmes, ABA is seeking to create a stronger foundation for the next generation of Nigerian basketball players, beginning with the coaches responsible for discovering and developing them.