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Britball.com Front
Pied Piper of Paisley gets People's Prize
 
 

You'll find them in almost any sports hall on a given night. Rain or
shine. Anonymous figures giving up their time to pass on their knowledge
to the next generation. Without compensation, or often gratitude. They
are the backbone of British sport, coaches, volunteers, helping
parents, all of whom fill in the gaping void between the demand and
supply of professional support.

Lindsay Lang was one of those unsung heroes. But earlier this month, in front of a packed audience in the Albert Hall and millions of viewers watching at home, he received much-deserved recognition for his endeavours, a BBC People's Award the honour bestowed by Auntie's viewing public for his labours to develop basketball in and around Paisley.

It is an adventure upon which Lang - a 48 year old PE teacher from
Elderslie, Renfrewshire - embarked five years ago when he established a local initiative to nurture the sport in his locale, a response he explains to
the lack of positive options available to the youth in a town which had
acquired a reputation as a breeding ground for miscreants rather than
sporting talent.

"I was with Paisley basketball club coaching at a senior level but I saw
so many kids, aged 17 or 18, with talent, but who were tactically naïve.
We were starting them too late. So I resigned and set up our own
development programme, going around schools, testing the water. And I
was blown away by the response.

"And from that our community clubs evolved. We have the Houston Hornets, the Paisley Pistons, Erskine Eagles and Woodfarm Warriors.  Within that group, we work with 300 girls and boys of all ages and abilities registered in the system and we coach another 500 per week through other channels. They train once per week, 30 weeks per year, and play organised competitive matches on a Friday night at Linwood Sports Centre, prior to our National League fixtures. 

"Everyone works hard all week and by the end of it you're tired. But we
look forward to Friday night because you can see the energy there on
court. It feels very special and that's down to efforts from so many
people which I think the children and their parents recognise."

Classes were cancelled at Gryffe High School last Monday morning,
everyone keen for an in-depth report on Lang's trip into the spotlight.
As a teacher, he views the range of adolescent predicaments at close
hand, the temptations on offer not always of societal benefit. However
the grand vision which he has helped draw up has been designed to combat such ills in parallel with enhancing the ability to dribble and dunk.

"If we can introduce outdoor basketball hoops around the Paisley area,
it can accomplish a host of things, not just in promoting the sport. We
didn't set out to take kids off the street, or keep them off drugs and
away from crime. But if we had several sites around the town, where kids
could go and be safe and hone their skills, It would give them something
constructive and positive to do rather than them standing idle on street
corners."

Lang's admits nonetheless that his ultimate ambition is to construct an
arena which would provide a focal point for the entire system and permit
a further expansion in what is already a basketball mini-empire.

"Our dream and vision as an association is to have our own sports arena
and that will come eventually," he affirms, "Any support that I get has
to be worked very hard for. That job is continuing. But we'll make it
happen through lottery funding and community and business partnerships. We'll also have our own basketball academy based there, not just for the
elite but for everyone who wants to play or be involved in any capacity.

"What annoyed me about football when I played was that very few people
put anything back into the game when they retired. No-one became a
referee. No-one wanted to coach kids. So we made it one of our rules
that when players develop and graduate, they have to help out: on the
scoring table, stewarding, managing the door. So the whole programme
becomes self-perpetuating...that alone should ensure we have a bright
future."

The jewel which sits atop Lang's pyramid of riches is Scottish League
side St. Mirren McDonald's which captured the domestic men's title last
term with a nucleus of talent forged within its own system. 

"On paper I have the best squad in Scotland but you can't take anything
for granted," states Lang.

A philosophy which has served Paisley basketball so well
of late. And one which its founding father intends to maintain despite
the additional burdens which recognition and prosperity have delivered.

"The little baby that started in embryonic form has become a monster.
Time, or lack of it, is the most difficult thing. But we have to be
prepared to talk to people. And we need money to keep the association
afloat and support all the initiatives. We want to make sure it doesn't
get out of hand and that the kids get the attention they need."

Lang took home from the Albert Hall a golden basketball as a tangible
momento of his achievement. Proof that one man's dream can touch the
lives of so many others. But from those many kids who have been nurtured in his programme, he has received a much more special prize. Their gratitude.

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