REPRESENTATIVES from Great Britain's Wheelchair Basketball Association visited Ilkley Grammar School to deliver wheelchair basketball sessions to a Year 10 PE class.

It was a chance to see Year 10 pupil, 14-year-old Ben Smithson, display his skills. Ben started his basketball career training with the Leeds Spiders in January 2008 aged just seven years old. He played his first competitive tournament two years later aged nine and a year later he got his own sports wheelchair. In October 2012 Ben was selected to play for Yorkshire U15s at Stoke Mandeville, an amazing experience for him and the team who came away with a bronze medal.

In 2015, Ben was again selected to play for the Yorkshire U15s, this time in Worcester, and again the team came away with a bronze medal. In September 2015, Ben changed teams and now plays for Wakefield Whirlwinds. The newly formed team have had a great season and played their first set of tournaments together. Ben is hoping to again play for Yorkshire in August 2016.

Ben's class were taught the basic skills of wheelchair basketball and were also given a quick rundown on how to control a wheelchair. The boys were taught the correct way of performing shooting, passing and catching in a wheelchair, with the coach reinforcing that to be a successful player, one of the main aims must be to perform skills consistently and well.

Robin Burton, curriculum leader PE, said: "Basketball is a game of brains not brawn and also a team game. The Year 10 boys were encouraged to call for help, reminding them that their other players, the bench and the coach were all in it together. The coaching session was a great opportunity to appreciate the skills required for this exciting sport and for the boys to see one of their classmates in action!"

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