Basketball: Rookie Ryan makes his point

Oct 2 2009 by John Woods, Irvine Herald

THINK basketball players and you think giants.

But Irvine teenager Ryan Vogwell proved he was a little big man when he scored his first professional points for the Glasgow Rocks last week.

At just 5ft 8ins Ryan is dwarfed by some of the players around him but the former Auchenharvie Academy pupil isn't fazed by their presence – he just gets in among them and it's that sort of determination which won him a pro contract with the Rocks in the first place.

Ryan, who now lives in Etive Place, is originally from Stevenston and became interested in the sport at school where one of his teachers was a basketball coach.

His talents were quickly spotted and he was soon playing in the Cadets (U16) National League before moving onto the U18 Junior Rocks and then enjoying a spell in the Senior Men's League with East Kilbride Jets.

But the Glasgow outfit were keeping a keen eye on the youngster and in the summer he signed a pro contract as a rookie – making basketball his full time occupation.

Ryan hopes to put on a few inches, but right now his height and build is ideal for his position as point guard.

“It's a role which is best suited to smaller, faster players who have better ball handling skills and can keep play flowing, so it’s ideal for me” said Ryan.

And those skills came to the fore last week when he came off the bench to score his first ever basket in the pro game as Rocks ran up a big win over a USA Select.

Ryan's big moment arrived in the last minute and, said the youngster, it's one which will live with him all his life.

“The cheering was fantastic when the ball dropped in,” he grinned. “It was absolutely electric and I'll never forget the feeling.”

Ryan is now making a name for himself in the game and has had a lot of support from the people around him.

His next aim is to be chosen for the Scotland U23 squad and, if hard work and dedication have anything to do with it, it's a goal he should achieve.

At the moment Ryan travels to Glasgow Monday to Friday for training sessions which last from 9am-11am, then on Saturdays it's a double session with the squad being put through their paces from 12 noon-2pm and 3pm-5pm.

In addition the players are contracted to go round local primary schools as part of the ‘Jump To It’ campaign which highlights the benefits of a healthy lifestyle by preaching the no smoking and no alcohol gospel and delivers a healthy eating message.

‘Jump To It’ is sponsored by the Cashback scheme which strips convicted criminals of their ill-gotten gains and ploughs the money back into needy communities.

Home games in the British Basketball League – which runs from September to April – are usually held in the Kelvin Hall on Sunday nights and the team travels all over the UK for away matches.

“As well as the basketball training there's a lot of gym work with weights and the like,” said Ryan.

“It's pretty punishing schedule, but when that ball drops into the basket and you hear the crowd cheering for you it's all worth while.”