US team visiting six cities to popularise basketball in India

Washington: Two sports faculty members from an eminent US university are visiting India to popularise

basketball in the land of cricket. At the end of the trip, the two faculty members from the George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia will identify 10 sports leaders to travel to the United States in the summer of 2010 to attend a Coaching Academy at Mason. During their time in Virginia, Indian coaches and administrators will receive instruction in sport management, participate in extensive interactive exchange with American sport officials and undertake an opportunity for coaching certification. They will stay in campus dormitories, learn from Mason faculty and take trips to various sporting facilities in the area, a media release said. Robert Baker, associate professor of sport management, and Craig Esherick, assistant professor of sport management, will hold combined coaching clinics and youth basketball camps in various cities throughout India, the university said. Funded by the International Sports Initiative grant, the team during their current week-long visit is visiting New Delhi and Kolkata. They plan to return to India in the spring to visit Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Chennai. "Basketball has become wildly popular all over the globe," Esherick said. "We have a chance to help popularise basketball in a country that has not yet wrapped its arms around this sport. Bureau Report