THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Recently, two types of equipment used to train basketball and volleyball players were showcased to the public at the International Sports Expo, held at the Jimmy George Indoor Stadium. Known as Dr Dish and AirCAT, only the GV Raja Sports School (Mailom) and a sports hostel in Mundayad (Kannur) within the state own the devices. Apart from them, the National Basketball Association (NBA) Academy in Noida uses Dr Dish to carry out shooting drills in basketball.
According to Premkumar Shekhar, basketball operations assistant at NBA, the device has 23 pre-programmed drills installed on it. “The angle, speed and distance can be set on the device. It can be used for both team and individual workout sessions as well,” he said. The machine which can hold a maximum of four balls at a time has a remote control feature which enables the coaches to monitor the performance of the players on their smartphones. “Custom drills can also be installed on the machine. Also, the time in retrieving the ball back from the net can be saved,” said Premkumar.
AirCAT, a much smaller machine, is used by volleyball players to practise their serves. “It can be adjusted in different positions, speed and angles and can be used to take serves and smashes. It is extremely useful for players who participate in the state, national and international-level competitions,” said a sports official.
Even though the GV Raja Sports School had procured the two types of equipment in September 2019, they are yet to efficiently use it. “Many are unaware of its use. Although demonstrations have been conducted, the coaches cannot grasp the functions of the machines in one go,” said the sports official. Till now, only the volleyball training equipment was used as part of a Khelo India camp. Another factor that had hindered the usage of the machines was the lack of indoor training facilities to use it. “The equipment can only be used indoors to prevent damage. Although the indoor courts have been completed two months ago, we are not allowed to use the area,” said a basketball coach.