Basketball: In Lot-et-Garonne, Laurent Mopsus wants to “bring pleasure back to the center of the discussion”.

What lessons are you taking away from this year 2022?

Compared to Covid-19, we have pulled our heads out of the water. A year ago, we stopped the junior championships in December and January. Christmas was canceled due to the situation. Compared to licensees, there are interesting shifts. We found the number of license holders before Covid-19. We have 5,121 licensees, which is an increase of 9%.

Is this permanent at club level?

We are in more than forty clubs in the department. The Buzet-sur-Baise club is inactive. There is a need to revitalize certain sectors of our territory, for example, the sector of Miramon-de-Guyenne. Not everything is optimized yet. There is still work to be done. But at the same time, it is important to highlight a number. We are the sixth department nationally for the ratio between the number of licensees and the number of residents). A good indication of basketball in Lot-et-Garonne. Another index should encourage us, new or renovated rooms. This was the case at the base of Lagarrigue, Laffite sur Lot, Lévignac, Duras, Fongrave, Castelmoron-sur-Lot or even Temple-sur-Lot.

But this period still left its mark…

Yes, the training affected our project. ABC club has decided to suspend the U15 elite. This resulted in the best elements moving elsewhere. This also affected the Chaumié development center. Managing this Covid era at committee level has not been easy either. Here, too, we keep our heads out of the water. We had a serious health problem. We have integrated new volunteers into the structure. We had to simplify our roadmap.

“Let’s help people who are ready to invest”

You have also implemented a new economic model to support clubs. What is its purpose?

This is a first. We distributed 20,000 euros to the clubs, neither less nor more. Clubs work, their redistribution is normal. We also support them in various ways. We do not accept contributions under licenses of categories U7 and below. We want to recreate the dynamic from the ground up. As for new leaders, we support ten licenses in clubs. There is obvious shortness of breath. It is important to refill the pump. Compared to the judges, we offer contributions and some of the material (Editor’s note: in this case, the jacket).

Compared to this covid period, which category has been affected the most?

Of course, the elderly. People have learned to manage their weekends differently. They took their time away from the associative base. When things got back to normal, we didn’t get it all back.

What are your prospects?

The key word is fun. We must continue to share with the clubs. We must act with one thought: to do better with less than to do too much. Let us help people who are ready to invest. For this, we need to take the height by placing the concept of pleasure at the center of the discussions. To maintain economic dynamics, we must try to increase the number of license holders.

“I’m not sure the stadium is always suitable”

With the 2024 Olympics on the horizon, could the department host an international preparatory meeting?

This is one of the challenges of our roadmap. It could be a nice project. We will see a little more clearly after the February tournament (in connection with the star tournament that will take place at the Temple-sur-Lot base). We want to do that. However, we have not yet confirmed that we can do this.

This year and in 2022, a young man trained in Lot-et-Garonne has been drafted into the NBA. There is no better advertisement than that.

This is beautiful. I don’t know if we really understand the magnitude of this event. You can’t imagine how difficult it is. We have to return what belongs to the Villeneuve-sur-Lot club. Ousmane Dieng participated during the 2019 All-Star Tournament. It is important for the department to benefit from this performance by Ousman. It is spectacular in terms of exposure. For this, the departmental committee hired a communication project manager. This should allow us to be more active in networks. And to highlight all the work done in our department more effectively. But Ousmane’s performance is also a work of personal work and a lot of sacrifice to achieve it.

Let’s talk more championships about N2. Last year, 47 clubs, including Agen, shone there. This season is more complicated…

This is a story of the times. A closer look at what happened. There are these derbies, especially Garonnico. GAB went towards the concept of identity of Lot-et-Garonne. On the BBM side, they make a breakthrough with the development of a larger formation. In the hyper-growth phase, clubs face the advantages as well as the limitations of having girls and boys. This can create an infrastructure problem. For Agenais, competition with rugby in particular has an economic context. I’m not sure the stadium is always appropriate in my opinion. Especially since it was the Jacques Clouché room, which was never used. At Villeneuvois they went on firmer foundations on the N3.

“We are in transition”

Is consolidation or mergers the solution?

It happens in small steps. There is no need to rush things. But we cannot hide the questions of competition. But when they do, it can lead to money problems or political competition. We will get there. But to avoid failure, you need to achieve this in a structured way, employing real project and real management skills.

We are in a period of energy loss. Are clubs struggling?

There are places that don’t get warm at all. We are still in good shape. In the east, they closed the rooms until March. We were fine until three weeks ago. I tell myself, I have to stop. True, this is not always pleasant. Questions sometimes arise about little ones playing in poorly insulated rooms. It is difficult when they have to exercise in the morning. We are in transition. We are coming out of an epidemiological crisis, we are experiencing another crisis involving all sectors. There will be answers.

What is your wish for this year 2023?

This would mean that we could end the season with an increased number of fair play and ethical situations and decreased nonsense and obscenities.