There will be will be an important referee and coaching clinic that will be put on by American Samoa Basketball Incorporated (ASBI), beginning this evening, January 9, from 5 to 7:00 p.m. for referees and coaches who wish to be a part of the 2012 Flag Day Basketball League, according to ASBI President Ed Imo.

“If there is anyone out there that wishes to referee the 2012 Flag Day League or any coach that wishes to enter a team in the league, they have to be at all of the clinics that will be taking place starting (today) January 9 through Friday January 13,” said Imo. “It is a must that the referees and coaches attend these clinics. The clinics will be held at the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) and they will be from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.”

Imo went on to explain that these clinics are meant to help our team prepare for the 2015 Pacific Games that will be taking place in Papua, New Guinea.

“We have a lot of talent on island in the game of basketball that we are constantly looking at and working with. Hopefully we will have a good turnout to work with these talented athletes,” he said.

American Samoa sent its National Basketball team to the 2011 Pacific Games (officially known as NC 2011) that took place in Noumea, New Caledonia, from August 27 to September 10, 2011, in which there were 22 participating island nations.

The men’s team record was 1 win and 3 losses and was able to finish fifth overall, when they downed Team Samoa by a score of 79-75. The women’s team finished with a record of 0 wins and 3 losses and was eighth overall when they were downed by Team Vanuatu 70-67 in a close overtime game.

One of the coaches for American Samoa men’s National Team, Diehl Langkilde, attended a six week long International Coaching Enrichment Certification Program (ICECP) in the United States last November, that was a joint effort between the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the University of Delaware (UD). Langkilde was selected from the territory’s American Samoa National Olympic Committee (ASNOC) to represent American Samoa for basketball development.

Langkilde notes that the clinics this week are for anyone interested in the sport of basketball. He said, “we want to develop basketball in the territory… if you want to learn how to become a coach, we encourage you to come out …whether or not you have coaching experience, this is the perfect time to come out and learn more."