CEBU, Philippines — A young aspiring Kiwi cager flew to Cebu all the way from New Zealand to further harness his skills with well known Cebuano basketball trainer Jefferson “Jeff” Codera.
Noah Castagna, a 6-foot-1 point guard from Whangaparaoa College in Auckland, currently works out with coach Jeff at the latter’s top-level training center located inside the Therrish Beach Resort in Maravilla, Tabuelan north of Cebu.
The two first met when Castagna attended the NBA’s Golden State Warriors training camp last January in California wherein Codera was one of the trainers.
From there, they formed an instant connection.
Last April, Castagna’s father Mike, himself a coach with NZ Street Basketball, brought Codera to New Zealand to conduct a one-on-one training session with the 14-year-old Noah.
This time, Noah traveled over a thousand miles to visit and sharpen his ability at Codera’s state-of-the-art practice facility.
“Noah’s dream is to get a college scholarship and play basketball professionally in the future,” said the elder Castagna. “And coach Jeff, a very professional coach who is now like a family to us, is showing Noah the kind of training he needs to compete at the elite level.”
“Noah understands it’s not an easy path. He has to be mentally strong, physically strong, emotionally strong while staying humble and respectful off the court. I’m confident coach Jeff will help him prepare for that,” he added.
Castagna hopes that his son will apply all the things he learned from the renowned “Man of A Million Drills” when he takes part in a series of tournaments upon his return to their place next week. — (FREEMAN)