James Naismith was a Canadian physical education instructor at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. In December of 1891, Luther Halsey Gulick (the director of the school) asked Dr. Naismith to find a physical activity that can occupy "a class of incorrigibles".
The class was tired of calisthenics [gymnastic exercises to acheive bodily fitness] and Dr. Naismith wanted to create a game that was fun and exciting; less about strength and toughness and more about skills and focus. He needed a game that can be played indoors in a relatively small space during the winter time, and to keep his football players in shape during the off-season.
He did a lot of research on different ancient sports and was inspired by a certain Aztec game called "Ollamalitzli" translated meaning "ballgame". The sport was basically a combination of soccer and basketball involved with two teams who tried to kick a ball into a small circular goal. Taking the task at hand, he rounded up two peach baskets and a soccer ball and 13 rules were developed for the new game.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Welcome to the Blacktop, for the next few months I'll be posting about basketball news from highschool, college and the NBA.
Basketball is still growing in popularity in our country but a lot of people don't know that the sport was actually created by a Canadian! The game was made in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith who worked at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Mas. and was asked to make a 5-on-5 game that can be played by both men and women.
Basketball is still growing in popularity in our country but a lot of people don't know that the sport was actually created by a Canadian! The game was made in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith who worked at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Mas. and was asked to make a 5-on-5 game that can be played by both men and women.
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