Doug Reed, founder and head coach of the Team Hurricane Basketball Academy, is looking forward to offering more elite opportunities to help student- athletes achieve their goals both on and off the court.

Now in its eleventh year, the youth basketball programme is continuing its mission to provide a platform in which its members can train, develop and reach their academic and athletic potential.

“We seek to provide the best competitive basketball experience for student-athletes who want to pursue a college education,” Reed said.

“Our programme is brimming with many talented players from our primary school division all the way up to our two secondary school divisions.

“Furthermore, Team Hurricane has a style of play that prepares them for such opportunities, one in which we preach: ‘Play fast but disciplined. Be assertive and decisive in your decision-making. And most importantly, play with confidence … believe in yourself.’

“As a result, I’m so delighted to see our players taking what they learn in the Hurricane programme and using it to showcase their skills and compete at a high level against other talented student-athletes in the US and the world beyond.”

Among those to have benefited from such efforts are academy trio Devon Todd, Nate Thomas and Jacob Hines.

Todd is entering his first year at the International Sports Academy in Sandusky, Ohio. The full-time academy, designed for dedicated student-athletes entering grades 8 to 12 or postgraduates, combines year round basketball and performance training with a college preparatory academic curriculum.

“I thank coach Reed and Team Hurricane for referring me to this programme,” Todd said.

“Team Hurricane has prepared me for ISA with a training programme that has quality reps, and a serious offensive system.

“I’m excited for this opportunity to be play basketball at a high level every day.”

Thomas, who is entering his second year at the Winchendon School in Maryland, participated in two Ivy League elite camps this August; the Amaker Basketball Elite Academy at Harvard University and Columbia University’s Jim Engles Elite Basketball Camp.

“My elite experience at Harvard was interesting and competitive,” he said. “At the showcase, it showed that everyone was hungry for limited spots.

“My elite camp experience at Columbia University was different from Harvard. The pace of the game was extremely fast. It taught me that I need to learn how to adapt to the different speeds of the game.”

Hines participated in Barry University’s Elite Basketball Camp led by head coach Butch Estes.

“Overall, it was a good experience,” he said.

“It was good to play against guys who were bigger, taller and sometimes stronger. The coaches made sure everything was precise so that we played at a high level. Everything was done fast, quick.

“I really enjoyed the experience because I had never been on a college campus before.”

• For more details on the Team Hurricane Basketball Academy, e-mail hurricanehoops@outlook.com.