Basketball Ireland (BI) has this week launched the Thursday Takeover
on their Instagram platform. The takeover sees the reins of BI’s
Instagram stories handed over every Thursday to the Irish basketball
players and student athletes who are living around the world.
The first takeover took place on the BI Instagram page yesterday (October 10th)
and featured Aidan Harris Igiehon. Igiehon, who is originally from
Clondalkin and started his basketball career with local club, Dublin
Lions, is now attending NCAA Division I college, the University of
Louisville. Fans of the Basketball Ireland Instagram page got a sneak
peek behind the scenes at life in Louisville, including his college
studies and his training programme at the university.
Other big names will be taking over the platform in the coming weeks
including Irish international Under 20 stars, Claire Melia, Enya Maguire
and Dayna Finn, as well as Dublin talent, Sean Flood, and Neptune’s
Sean Jenkins and Darragh O’Sullivan to name but a few.
Speaking about the #ThursdayTakeover, Media & Communications
Manager at Basketball Ireland, Mary McGuire, stated: “We are thrilled
that so many of the Irish abroad have come on board with us to roll out
this new initiative. It was brilliant to get a real life look at what
goes on in the life of a student athlete when Aidan took over our
stories for the day, and he was on hand all evening to answer people’s
questions as well, which was fantastic. We’re really looking forward to
the coming months as we have some fantastic athletes lined up and ready
to tell their story on the page and we can’t wait to see what they get
up to.”
The initiative comes just one week after the governing body
launched a new support service for young Irish players and their parents
as they go through the research process of considering playing and
studying in the USA and further afield. The support service aims to
answer any questions or queries surrounding the process, ensuring that
players and their parents and guardians can make a well-informed
decision.
Speaking when the service was launched, CEO of Basketball Ireland
Bernard O’Byrne stated: “We hope that parents and guardians will be
able to use this support as they look into the options in the USA for
their sons and daughters. We aim to provide support and guidance
throughout the process, drawing on the vast experience that exists
within the Irish basketball community from many current and former
players who have been through the process already. With an increasing
number of sites and agents offering opportunities to Irish players, it
is important for families to know that this service is available for
free.”
Former Irish international and current Elite Performance
Committee (EPC) member, Suzanne Maguire – who had a Hall of Fame career
at Fordham University and has been through the process first hand -
added: “Heading to the USA can be an exciting but daunting prospect for
any young player. Understanding the eligibility criteria and what
questions to ask any potential recruiter are both important tools anyone
considering this path should have.”
Players or their parents/guardians who have any questions about
the process, or would like to speak to someone further, can submit their
query to the dedicated email address: [email protected]
You can follow Basketball Ireland on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/basketball_ireland/?hl=en
