It is common that the journey to the top for most players starts with humble beginnings; in fact, the majority of them start their careers at schools or in academies.

For Lydia Uwimana Kamerewe, 18, honing her basketball skills began at Spartans basketball academy, based in Kibagabaga. The academy’s impact, she says, has been crucial in stepping up her game.

Spartans academy provides her with all training facilities, including camps and clinics, and coaches throughout the year.

Joshua Kaggwa is one of the coaches at Spartans academy.

"Before joining the academy, I was not sure of what I wanted, but it has shaped my basketball talent to a point where I am now able to compete with and against the best players and teams in the country,” she told Weekend Sport in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

At the moment, Kamerewe features for the women’s national basketball team, and the Hoops Rwanda in the domestic league. All this, she insists, is courtesy of the doors Spartans Academy has opened for her.

Spartans academy has produced players for different league clubs and national teams since launching in 2016. 

Obed Aimé Numugisha is another beneficiary who now plays in school and youths championships, with plans of soon playing in the second division league.

Producing talented players

Spartans basketball academy started in 2016 with a purpose of giving a platform to urban kids to practice the sport under the trained coaches and an organization for close guidance.

Joshua Kaggwa, a basketball coach for Kigali Christian School and Spartans Academy says initially, the team was created to reinforce the school team, and then, later on, it spread wings to strengthen the sports fraternity in the community of Kibagabaga.

At the moment, the academy has produced more than five athletes who went on to compete in the BK Basketball National League and played for the Rwanda national teams at different age brackets.

Besides, it has also participated in a number of competitions including the Bank of Kigali 3X3 tournament, country-level youths tournaments in both girls’ and boys’ categories in 2019. The girls’ team went all the way to the finals, held in Musanze District, Northern Province.

The academy also fielded a team in the inaugural elite invitational tournament this year where they emerged as overall winners on top of individual accolades; including the MVP title and the Three-Point Contest.

More than just skills in sports

The academy supports children from the ages of four to 25, by giving them an opportunity to train until they make a decision to play the game of basketball.  

"Our team goes beyond basketball, we are involved in academics too. The kids are required to submit their grades so we follow up on their academic progress and make necessary interventions at their respective schools,” Kaggwa says. 

Spartans academy enrolls youngsters aged between 4 and 23.

Aside from sports and academics, officials say, the academy kids are also taught about life and interpersonal skills so they can grow into responsible members of the society.

Solomon Mukama, the team manager for Spartans, believes that a vigorous sports programme complements a vigorous academy programme. 

"The notion that students stop perform well in class when they go into competitive sports is just lack of understanding on how the two are complimentary rather than conflicting. Our kids understand they can excel at both,” he says.

He further added that there is quite a number of youth who need the kind of opportunity Spartans academy offers, and urged parents to be more involved in identifying and supporting talents of their children at a young age.

"As a coach, I advise parents to get more involved directly in identifying the talents of their kids at an early age and also give them their full support.”

Kaggwa appeals to fellow coaches to engage more in basketball development activities by training young kids and giving them an opportunity to love the game of basketball.

"Once a big number of coaches engage in such activities at grassroots level, we will have a bright future in Rwandan basketball.” 

However, he cites limited playgrounds and heavy competition from technological distractions as some of the major challenges faces by basketball.

"The kids want to spend more time on movies, video games and social media, and the distraction is a threat to their basketball development.”