From West Michigan to Jamaica: Making a difference in the world of basketball
HOLLAND, Mich. — While Kyle Plank is well known in West Michigan as an athlete, coach and educator, many locals may not be aware of the role he plays in the international sports world.
A former assistant basketball coach at Hope College (where he played college basketball himself in the 1990s) and current physical wellness educator at West Ottawa High School, Plank has been helping run a youth basketball camp in Kingston, Jamaica, every summer for the last 20 years鈥攖he Jumpball Basketball Programme ().
Lately, however, his longtime involvement with Jamaica鈥檚 youth has led to an even bigger coaching opportunity on the small Caribbean island. In 2019, one of Plank鈥檚 colleagues in the Jumpball program, Rick Turner, was hired as head coach and national coordinator for the Jamaican Men鈥檚 Basketball Program鈥攁nd he quickly asked Plank to join his team as an assistant coach.
鈥淭he Jamaican National Basketball Program had basically been dormant for several years,鈥� Plank described, 鈥渇or reasons such as lack of funding, lack of infrastructure and poor leadership, among others.鈥�
Under new management since 2019, however, the Jamaican Basketball Association (JABA) now has a strong staff with big goals: build a sustainable national program, provide opportunities to grow the sport, and help build and strengthen communities on the island. (Take a look at for more information.)
鈥淪ince 2019, our primary emphasis has been raising awareness, fundraising and identifying qualified talent,鈥� Plank explained. 鈥淭o help generate some 鈥榖uzz,鈥� we announced our goal of competing in the 2024 Olympic Games (to be held in Paris) and launched with a 24-hour livestream event on YouTube.鈥�
However鈥s it did all across the world, the pandemic served as major obstacle in getting things off the ground for the Men鈥檚 National Team. Jamaica was鈥攁nd still is鈥攊n lockdown. As a consequence, the staff have not been able to organize any workouts, mini-camps or training camps for any level since the summer of 2019.
The pandemic also postponed and changed the qualifying window for the FIBA World Cup. (FIBA is short for the French name 鈥淔ederation Internationale de Basketball Amateur鈥�). Turner and JABA learned quite late in the game that a prequalifying tournament for their region was taking place in El Salvador in April 2021, so they quickly arranged for the Jamaican National Team to participate.
Plank explained, 鈥淲e essentially had only three weeks to put together a roster, meet all COVID protocols, secure all appropriate visas and arrange transportation for athletes residing in three countries to get to El Salvador鈥攁nd we did it. My role in the process was to gather information and video, scout two of the opponents and consult on personnel, strategy and game planning.鈥�
Unfortunately, Plank was unable to attend the event in El Salvador because of his teaching duties here in Michigan.
鈥淲e finished the tournament 2-2,鈥� Plank conceded. 鈥淲e failed to finish in the top three teams and did not advance to the next round of qualifiers for World Cup 2023. This will make our bid to qualify for the 2024 Olympics a bit more difficult, but we鈥檙e still pursuing it. We鈥檙e seeking some other avenues with FIBA to continue in the qualifying process.鈥�
鈥淚n the meantime,鈥� Plank said, 鈥渨e鈥檙e putting together a team to compete in TBT鈥擳he Basketball Tournament鈥攊n July to continue to raise awareness for Jamaica basketball and the Jamaica brand鈥nd maybe win some money for our program.鈥� (Check out thetournament.com.)
鈥淥ur goals are still the same,鈥� Plank summarized. 鈥淲e want to build a sustainable national basketball program in Jamaica, grow the sport and build communities and opportunities鈥攁nd ultimately, qualify for an Olympic Games.鈥�
To learn more about the Jamaica Basketball Project, visit . If you like gear, take a look at .
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