Josh Lowe. Photo Ashburton GuardianThere’s no rest from basketball for Ashburton College senior player Josh Lowe these holidays.

The 2.03 metre (6 foot 8 inch) student has a two-day training camp in Auckland next week then he’s off to Las Vegas with an Impact Basketball Academy team to play against some of the best high school ballers in the United States.

Lowe, 17, caught the eye of the academy’s top coach in April when he was part of a development team that played in a Florida tournament.

He’s been working on every aspect of his game since and is hoping to ultimately earn a basketball scholarship to an American university. Lowe is a member of the senior boys’ side that plays in the Canterbury Basketball Association’s Thompson Trophy secondary schools’ competition.

He has regularly faced off against New Zealand age-group reps but knows he will need to take his game to another level when he steps off the plane on July 25.

Florida was a learning experience – the Americans played a faster and more physical version of the popular sport and he had to adapt quickly.

He also found himself playing in the unfamiliar position of point guard.

“In the US they double-team you when you bring the ball up, they are a lot more aggressive.”

In Mid Canterbury Lowe has always been the tallest player in the team as he has progressed through school and representative teams over the years and always played at centre or small forward.

So for the past 12 months he has also been working on his ball skills and strength. He puts up at least 100 shots most days and practises on the purpose-built concrete slab outside his home.

The left-hander dribbles the ball, or balls, with both hands, behind him, in front of him, through his legs.

He is also following a special strength and weight-gain programme designed by physical trainer Frank Connelly; since the start of the year he has put on 10kg. Lowe says the Florida trip helped him decide to give basketball a shot and he had no hesitation in saying yes when invited back for the Las Vegas tournament and then to join the academy in Florida in January.

He plans to train there for part of the year, aiming for a scholarship that would kick in when the American school year does in August.

He says good grades at school are also an important consideration for universities so the Year 13 student is also spending part of the holidays immersed in his text books.

Playing basketball while he studies next year would be a dream come true.

By Linda Clarke © The Ashburton Guardian - 12 July 2017