Through the hard work in practices to competing at a high level in organized competitive games, team cohesion and the trust of one another build the foundation to be successful in playing organized basketball.

Basketball is more than a sport that teaches fundamentals, it is an outlet where newcomers can learn valuable life lessons to advance players learning how to become leaders and the best place to start is an organization that emphasizes on those aspects.

Nothing But Net Guam (NBNG) is a basketball youth organization that launched in March 2016.

Founder and owner Josh Torres continues to build on the program by hiring two highly experienced coaches Mark Tandoc and Tony Taianao to help lead the way in running the programs offered.

“The organization is for the community to provide the opportunity for kids to build on their skills,” Tandoc said. “It also allows them to gain more experience in live game situations as they play in competitive leagues.”

NBNG holds camps every summer and during breaks the Guam Department of Education schedules. The program runs a variety of sessions and accepts players as young as four to 18-year-olds and is conveniently located in the basketball gyms at Agat and Yigo.

Players joining NBNG can expect to learn the basic basketball fundamentals from offensive to defensive skills.

“A typical day in camp is the players participates in drills to develop individual skills in the morning,” Taianao said.  “In the afternoon we run deliberate games from one on one to five on five to develop teamwork and build confidence within themselves and each other.”

The coaching staff has over 20 years in coaching experience combined and their passion for the game goes beyond basketball.

“We try inspire the youth to learn how to be discipline,” Torres said. “We teach good values and morals through sports by developing them to go as far as they want to go.”

Leaning values

The values the players learn in NBNG helps shape their character on and off the court.

“We are teaching them to trust each other, to trust in themselves, to trust the coaches and everything will fall into place just as long as they put the work in,” Taianao said. “We focus on developing the player’s basketball IQ to show the game of basketball is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical.”

The coaches are like-minded who emphasis the fundamentals of basketball and the values the players can develop. The values the players learn gives them confidence to communicate as a leader and positively build on their characteristics.

While participating in practices and playing in competitive games, being at a certain physical level is important, however, coach Taianao emphasis that the players should be as mentally prepared.

“The players can break the defense easily by making the right pass and making the right decision by hitting their teammate in stride as oppose to giving the ball behind their back,” Taianao said. “They have to be smart, be trustworthy, and be selfless.”

Being involved in basketball allows the players to stay consistently active. “We try to prevent them from learning unfavorable habits, for instance, playing video games,” Tandoc said. “This program helps them stay active, set personal goals, and teaches them how to develop a work ethic to achieve their goals.”

The post Passion, trust, and teamwork drive youth basketball to the next level appeared first on The Triton's Call.

By the end of the first quarter, the Tritons managed to keep the score close, trailing the Bombers by three points.

However, by half-time, the score was 42-24, with the Bombers taking on the lead.  By the end of the third quarter, the Bombers 37 points ahead of the Triton.

The Triton’s tried to chip down the deficit, but only managed to score 11 points in the fourth quarter.

That has been the occurring outcome throughout the season.

“We played in a few close games, which showed we have heart and that we have fight,” Triton’s assistant coach Josh Torres said. “Unfortunately, we are the only team with no national players.”

The Tritons are a relatively new team that was formed two weeks prior to the start of the Guam Basketball Association (GBA) season.

“We only had two weeks of preparation that included tryouts, teaching the offense, teaching the defense, finding the chemistry with the guys,” Torres said. “That’s more than a two week process.”

The Men’s Basketball team was reintroduced in the first season of the GBA, however this season UOG’s athletic program is more structured with the arrival of the new athletic program director, Doug Palmer, months prior to the start of Triton’s second GBA season. The Triton’s entered into a building stage of the program and faces many challenges along the way.

“Being a brand-new program was the biggest challenge with these guys, there was no precedence and there was no standard,” Torres said. “We just knew where we wanted to be and we had to make our own outline on how to get there.”

Although this is the Triton’s second season, this is their first time having a complete coaching staff consisting of head coach Brent Tipton, and assistant coaches Steve Yates and Josh Torres.

They are an integral part in building UOG’s basketball program and have inspired the players to work hard to achieve long-term goals.

“Our coaches this year have been doing a tremendous job putting together a bunch of guys and making them turn their egos into team-first mentality,” junior guard Andrew Carlos said. “They have been doing everything in their power to make us a better team by pushing us to our limits and teaching us new ways of playing basketball.”

Everyone involved in the building process has the shared understanding of the desired goals.

“We have to focus on the big picture and focus on the goals that are ahead,” senior guard Tony Taianao said. “We are not looking for instant gratification, we are looking for long term success.”

The post Bright future for UOG Men’s Basketball team despite winless season appeared first on The Triton's Call.

Nothing But Net Guam officially launched in March 2016, which started as idea that eventually became a reality. “It quickly grew into a program,” Torres said. “We host camps during each break that Guam Department of Education has and when the kids are not in school, we have the kids working hard in our camps.”

Torres grew up in Seattle, Wash. and started playing basketball competitively in middle school up until his senior year as a varsity player at Kentwood High School in Covington, Wash., where he was introduced to coaching. “In high school we ran clinics for the youth, we hosted what we called Cage Camp and our varsity team would be coaches for the players who attended Cage Camp,” Torres said. “I really started to enjoy the coaching aspect of basketball.”

Over a course of nine years in coaching, Torres accolades go beyond winning and teaching the fundamentals of basketball. “We try to inspire the youth to really get involved in basketball and sports to learn discipline, sharing, being a team player,” Torres said. “We are trying to teach good values and morals starting at a young age.”

The game of basketball is more than a sport for Torres. Torres learned the same valuable lessons he teaches at a young age growing up in a family of athletes. His mother was a junior Olympic swimmer, his father was a Division I football player, and his brother was a state champion wrestler. He followed suit by being a Division II football player.

However, his love for basketball and coaching carved his path into starting an organization. “I get real fired up when the players buy into the system, buy into team mentality, play consistently and together,” Torres said. “I really enjoy the cohesiveness in team sports, it is a reciprocal effect where I inspire them. They play hard and they play well, that inspires me to continue to coach.”

The post Men’s basketball assistant coach stays active in community appeared first on The Triton's Call.

The UOG Men’s Basketball team looks to improve their season one record of two wins and 10 losses under the guidance of a new coaching staff.

Head coach Brent Tipton, and assistant coaches Josh Torres and Steve Yates were hired last spring.

Along with a new coaching staff comes a new roster of 15 players who were selected after a rigorous three-day tryout held on August.

Five players will return from the prior season. Ten new players will be playing for their first season.

UOG Men’s Basketball team will compete in 10 regular season games scheduled throughout September and October.

The official regular season schedule is posted on the events section of the UOG official website. For more information contact UOG Athletic Director Doug Palmer at palmerd@triton.uog.edu.

The post University of Guam Men’s Basketball team set to open new season appeared first on The Triton's Call.