Babak Khodaparasti, head of the Zoroastrian basketball school in Tehran, has just recently started his work. It took him two months to prepare 60 basketball players in the age groups of small kids and adults, to compete in the Janbakhtegan Cup. On Monday, 16th amordad, I sat with him for an interview.
What happened that you started the “Tehran Zoroastrian Basketball School”?
“Basketball in the Zoroastrian community has come to an end. At the beginning of this year’s tournament, we discussed having at most three basketball teams two of which were older ones. Considering it my duty to help the Zoroastrian community, with the help of the children’s parents, I decided to hold a basketball course at the elementary level for elementary school children, i.e., 1st to 6th grade. At the beginning, I planned to prepare 10 teams for the Janbakhtegan Cup, with the help of the parents, but the result was that 11 teams participated. Out of them 3 teams were girls’ teams, 8 were boys’ teams. Currently, there are sixty people in this group, and they are being trained.
How did you call for enrollment?
Our call was not advertised everywhere. Those who knew about this course sent the message to school groups, and we did not publish a call in the Zoroastrian media. Thus, after beginning of the games, many joined our group. I hope that this incident becomes permanent. The parents helped me accomplish this goal, and I have asked hem to be there to help. I said that two of those children our mine. Other parents should also be alongside their children so that we can achieve a worthy result.
Babak Khodaparasti added that almost two months have passed from the time I sent out the call to the schools, up to the time when Janbakhtegan games started, and these groups have been practicing for a month and a half.
Where do the funds come from?
When the discussions started for forming the teams, my wish was that the best of everything is procured; from the quality and color of children’s clothes, upto the sports bags and logo design, all was done with the loving help of parents. Thanks to them, our group also includes a doctor and a psychologist; we hope these efforts will continue. Farzad Namiranian, Rostam Namdari, Pedram Ezzati, Mehrdad Kermani, Abtin Behboodhi, and all the dear ones helped.
Do you have any plan for your groups to participate in formal competitions too?
Yes, I have laid the foundation of this project on this same basis that the children participate in inter-school competitions, in Jamshid Jam School, and also Yeganegi Cup competition, and in this way we will move step by step till we achieve bigger goals.
Are the groups you work with age-specific?
When I started my work with the primary school children, there were a few children from the middle school and high school. Since our access to suitable playground was limited and also since the number of elder children who had enrolled was not sufficient to make a separate team, I decided to train them together with the adult group, and thus now our groups consist of primary school children and adults.
Would all those who joined this group in this past one and a half month take part in the Cup competitions?
Yes, I asked everyone to be present in all the exercises from the beginning, and the children attended the practices seriously. For the cup competitions, I tried to group them in the same way according to different conditions in terms of playing level, physicality, and age so that all the teams are in the same level in terms of playing.
Are you satisfied with the results of the competitions so far?
Yes, the kids were better than I thought, and in this tournament, which was the first one for us, winning and losing didn’t matter. It was essential for me to ensure that basic work was done and that the outcome of this investment would be determined in the next two to five years. I am trying to bring the Zoroastrian basketball level to the highest among Tehran schools, in the next few years.
In the end of the interview, Babak Khodaparasti expressed his hope that his group will be allowed access to the training facilities of Farvahar group, Anoushiravan School, and Adorian Hall with the cooperation of Zoroastrian community workers. Because, due to the age of the team members, it is not possible to train them outdoors in the cold season.
