All-NZ Q&A: Josh Young
Tagged in: Athletes
Counties-Manukau guard Josh Young is one of many athletes to double-up this month with the 2009 Koru Development Tour to Australia last week and the All-NZ Camp in Palmerston North this week.
Josh, along with fellow under-16 Koru and All-NZ Camp athlete Tim Apisai, helped Counties Manukau to fifth at the Oreo Under-15 National Championships last October, losing to North Harbour 82-62 in the quarters before winning their final two games.
www.basketball.org.nz catches up with Josh, a 15-year-old from Papatoetoe who moves into Year 11 at Auckland Grammar in 2009, during lunch on day two of the All-NZ Camp.
BBNZ: Josh, you went on the Pacific Basketball tour last year, but last week was your first major international tournament experience on the 2009 Koru Tour to Albury, how was that as an experience?
JY: It’s really cool. It was a good experience, I definitely learned a lot and came back a way better player. And it was heaps of fun as well.
BBNZ: Your Under-16 Kea team had a tough time of it at the Australian Country Cup, winning two of eight games, how did you find it going up against Australian state teams?
JY: The Aussies, they’re really good. They’re not as fit as us but they’re really brainy. They think it through more. It’s a lot different to how we play.
BBNZ: After a full-on week on the Koru Tour, you celebrated a birthday and now you’re back into it this week at your first All-NZ Camp, how has the first day or so gone?
JY: It’s quite hard eh. It’s really intense, even the things we do off the court as well. Yesterday we went over the skills and today we did fitness testing and now we’ve got another two-hour training.
BBNZ: The fitness testing, how did that go? Top of the class?
JY: The testing went well. For me, I came third in under-16 for the 3km run. I don’t know about the other things. I’m used to it because with Counties Manukau last year, we had a personal trainer who did that kind of thing with us.
BBNZ: There is a lot happening with New Zealand age-group teams this year, what are some of your personal goals for 2009?
JY: My goal this year is to make the New Zealand under-16 side that’s going to the Aussie championships and to just do well with school basketball and for Counties.
BBNZ: Ok Josh, before we let you go, let’s quickly run through some basketball favourites: first, player?
JY: From any time? It would have to be MJ, Michael Jordan.
BBNZ: Coach?
JY: Dave Ruha, my coach at Counties Manukau
BBNZ: Team?
JY: The Boston Celtics
The All-NZ Camp at Massey University and Arena Manawatu runs from January 22-26 for the Emerging Junior Tall Blacks and Under-16 boys, and from January 26-30 for the Emerging Junior Tall Ferns and Under-16 girls.
