Basketball in Singapore is played under
FIBA rules, for the most part. I say "for the most part" as not all courts have a shot clock. Basketball is basketball, except the rules here are meant to speed up the game. For instance, there is a 24-second shot clock, and you have eight seconds to cross mid court (instead of 10). I love both of these rules. If you are fouled, and it's a non-shooting foul, the shot clock will reset to 14 seconds, assuming there are less than 14 seconds remaining on the clock. Oh, and there is no such thing as "one-and-one".
There are a couple of things I had to get used to. First, during a close game the other day, we were down three with under two minutes to go when we scored on a put back. I called timeout. However, timeout wasn't granted. It seems you're not allowed to call timeout after your team scores. The other team came down and scored, putting us back down by three, so I called timeout. We get the ball at half court after the timeout. I like that, but I don't like the fact that I can't call timeout after we score.
After that game ended, I discovered that you cannot call a timeout at all when the ball is live and you have possession! What? Now THAT is different! I don't know the rationale for that rule, but it will take some getting used to.
Oh, and if the ball is knocked out of bounds on the sideline, on your basket side of half court, you must inbound the ball in the front court. This takes some getting used to on my part, both offensively and defensively. I think that's an advantage for the defense, and will coach it that way.
My introduction to basketball in Singapore was via email prior to my move. The girls' coach, Dale, from
United World College (UWC), receives a newsfeed on anything with "basketball" and "Singapore". The Hartford Courant ran a quick blurb about my resignation at E.O. Smith, and Dale reached out, inviting me to look him up when I arrived in Singapore. I did just that! I helped him at a couple of practices, and he introduced me to John, the boys' coach at UWC. John runs an organization called
Asia Pacific Sports Management. John has had me help at a few clinics, and introduced me to Domenic, who has two sons that I help train. While watching a UWC girls' game, I met a local woman who was looking for a private coach for her son. He became my first client! She introduced me to a local coach with ties to the
Basketball Association of Singapore, Coach Chan. Chan invited me to one of his U19 Club practices. He handed me a whistle and told me to run the training session. 18 guys on an outdoor court with two hoops. After that, he invited me to help with a couple of other teams, so I guess I passed the test!
So far, I've been involved with one-on-one coaching and running practices (they call it training) for Orchid Park Secondary School and Teck Ghee Elementary School. I've also helped with the Titans U13 boys club team and helped with a clinic for all entrants in a local 3-on-3 tournament. Additionally, I helped out for several Sundays at a clinic at the Canadian International School. I have also helped coach the U13 and U14 boys at Orchid Park in a U16 tournament with predictable results.
Right before Thanksgiving, I worked the Slam Jam camp at the Basketball Association. It was a great week with morning, afternoon and evening sessions. We had beginners and National Team members, boys and girls, and some very good coaches. The camp was run by Avi Meyerson from
Impact Basketball, Australia.
