Big number in basketball try out surprises new coach

By Marc Daou--

The AUB basketball teams for men and women have acquired a new coach, Rizkallah Zaloum, who goes by the name Roro. Not a total rookie to AUB coaching, coach Roro has previously trained the Off Campus Program (OCP) for two years during the war years in Lebanon. The OCP was a mini AUB in Achrafieh, created to accommodate the needs of students living in what was know then as East Beirut. Coach Roro, one of the most famous Lebanese coaches, has been practicing his profession since 1983, before receiving a coaching degree in1989 from Western State Connecticut University. In 1999 he participated in a coaching conference in Greece with the participation of some of the most famous coaches in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Lebanese Youth National Team, under the leadership of Coach Roro, has achieved first place in the West Asian Basketball Championship in 1998. Another noted achievement was third place in the Arab Youth Basketball Championships in 1999, and third place with the Lebanese menÕs team in the Arab Basketball Championships in 1997. Currently Coach Roro has relaxed his schedule and is committed to only three teams. The men and womenÕs basketball teams at AUB, being two of them and the Jamhour Basket Ball team being the third. Coach Roro has affirmed that he has enough time to dedicate to all three teams. Regarding the students trying out for the teams this year, Coach Roro expressed his surprise at the vast number of women basketball players who have come forward to participate in the try outs. As for the skills of the women players, the coach added that on an individual basis the players have a good level and show talent. Moreover, the menÕs team have acceptable height and build according to the coach. The men have also developed skills. The characteristic, which mostly caught the attention of the coach, is the speed that the AUBites have. For a university team coach Roro thinks that three workouts a week would be sufficient for the team given their studies. He also emphasized that the first priority for him was the students academic performance not his training attendance. When asked to comment on the facilities available in AUB, Roro said that the courts are enough, although wooden floors would be better. But he added that athletes who are used to playing on concrete courts develop greater strength in their legs. As a final note, coach Roro commended the great enthusiasm that the AUBites are showing during the workouts, hoping that this continues throughout the year, accompanied with great results.