A Word with... Chris Sparks | Canterbury Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Canterbury

Young Canterbury Rams coach Chris Sparks reviews the NBL season with sports editor Nick Tolerton.

# How do you rate the Rams' season, Chris?

I don't think I've ever seen a team improve as a group and individuals more in one season than this group did. Obviously the wins and losses weren't exactly what we wanted, but at the beginning of the year we returned basically only one starter, Jeremy Kench, from last season, and we lost our two veterans and captains in Tim Edmonds and Rewi Manahi. So to go from where we did at beginning of the season to end of the season, I was extremely proud of them.

# Were you pleased with the development of your young guys?

Yeah, absolutely. The only thing I've always wanted us to do is get better every game every day. When you have guys like Mike Townsend, who's only been playing in organised ball for like four years, go from last year where he wouldn't even get in some games to this year making the impact that he did, and now he's getting a development contract with the Breakers, is great. And Joel Hart, who last year would get spot minutes and sometimes wouldn't even play in games we worked on him over the off-season on the mental aspect of the game. And to see him step into some games and contribute the way he did was great.

# The win in Napier last week had to be the top performance?

Hands down. That was a great game for us because we played four quarters of basketball the way we wanted to. It was a turning point for this group. The last year and a half when I've been working with these guys, the one thing we always wanted to do was to build up to where we can beat those teams. All throughout last season, all throughout this season, we've slowly built up to the point where we put ourselves in a position to win games but we could never close the deal. That's just learning, that's experience, that's getting time out on the court, and the Napier game it all just clicked.

# It must have been frustrating this season that in most games one bad quarter let the Rams down?

Yeah, yeah. That's what we'd focussed on all year and everybody knew it. And it is very frustrating not for me, but frustrating for the guys, because they work so hard and they play so well and then you just go out there and they have a lull, and that happens. The thing we realised and was evident in the Hawkes Bay game, is championship level teams, you cannot let down for one second, you cannot rest for one second. You have to always be putting the other team on the defensive.

# The budget you have obviously makes it harder for the Rams to compete?

Yeah, that's one of the unfortunate things about professional sport but it's a reality. We're playing teams this year, a number of teams, where one or especially two of their players made more than our whole team did. Once again that's a credit our guys, because they know that, just to be able to go out and, you know, they play for the love of the game.

# Should the Rams have an owner or be run by the provincial association?

You know, I think it can be good either way. I think John Watson has the right vision in wanting to give the Rams completely back to the basketball association. In the ultimate scheme of things, I think it's great for a kid when they're growing up and they're playing in these rep programmes, for there to be a clear pathway to get to the Rams. I think it's like anything else you need to run things the right way to get the best results, and I know that especially in this league, it's very easy to tell the teams that are run well versus the ones that aren't.

# Are you keen to come back next year?

Yeah, I am, but I really want to sit down with the CBA board and see what their long-term vision is. I think that right now Canterbury basketball, we have potentially the makings for a championship team within about two or three years. But for that to happen, you know there's going to be some specific things that I would need to see long-term from Canterbury Basketball and what they want to do. # What are you doing now the season's over?

I do a lot of coaching in schools and high performance-type camps. Something I really have a passion for is teaching kids basketball. I really love to teach the game at base level as well as coaching in NBL.

# What's our youth talent pool like?

There's definitely some talent coming up. But the biggest thing is they need to go home and practise by themselves. If there's one thing that I've seen from kids here, is mainly the only time they practise their game is when they come to sessions. When they go home, they don't pick up a ball again. Myself growing up and the guys I played with growing up, the sessions we had with the coach were the least amount of time we had. May be an hour, two hours. But every day you were going home and practising three, four hours on your own.

# Who's going to win the NBL?

It's the play-offs so anything can happen, but my money's on Waikato. They've won 10 out of their last 11 games, they easily have the best roster in the league, and they've got the greatest leader in the league in Pero Cameron. When we played them up there last time they literally had every facet of the game down pat.

You're a keen sailor been on the water in New Zealand? I've been on the America's Cup boats up in Auckland and staying up until two in the morning watching the America's Cup, and I really hope Team New Zealand can pull one out.

# See any rugby?

Absolutely. I'm a big fan of the Crusaders and been to watch a few practices, and a really big fan of Robbie Deans. I'm looking forward to the All Blacks taking the World Cup, and watching them against the Springboks here.

# What's the best thing about being in Christchurch?

The people. I've been absolutely welcomed here with wide open arms and made a lot of good relationships with people in the community.

# And the worst?

That it didn't get warm enough this summer. Back home right now (Indiana), it's between 30 and 35 degrees!