Talking Split

As many of our seasons are drawing to a close or deep in finals, we look at the role the coach has to play in conducting end of season reviews both with their players, their own role, the season as a whole, and what some PD and downtime can look like in the time that they have off.

A bit of a rom-com special this week, and not just about Zoe’s love of a BBQ brisket. The topic this week is “How To Lose A Game in 10 Ways”, and are we as coaches doing anything that can be contributing to our teams losing games? We bounce around several different topics that can make a big difference to the scoreboard over the course of a game, most of the things thankfully, are within our control! If you’ve got any others we haven’t thought of, drop them in the comments and we may end up with another pod around “50 First Mistakes” for the Adam Sandler fans…

Fortunate and grateful to be joined by Errol Amerasekera from Bluestone Edge this week on the podcast as we dive into how to best give feedback in coaching, the impact the brain can have when receiving feedback, creating and defining a psychologically safe environment for our players and coaches, and how we can help make the sport what our players need to thrive. Something for everyone in this one, if you’re a coach, parent, or casual observer of the sport. You can see and hear more from Errol here: https://www.youtube.com/@AtTheEdgeLessonsInCultureAndLe

When you lose one hyphenated named coach, it’s only right that you replace them with another, and this week we have the State Development Coach for Victoria Country, Fernando Rios-Rodriguez joining us for his podcast debut.  The topic this week is something we have seen an abundance of at junior basketball of late, in zones and presses. We discuss some of the pros and cons of using them, the impact that it can have on player development, where they have a place in junior or senior basketball, and just as importantly, some teaching points you can use when playing against them.

Bit of an extended break between pods, but back this week to talk about U16 Nationals review, and the world of Assistant Coaches. We discuss what their role can be, some of the traits of a good assistant coach, how to create a cohesive working environment and how to make sure everyone is on the same page as a coaching staff to give the players the best experience. As you’ll hear, Besty has made the move to the US to take up an exciting opportunity coaching at a High School. Thanks to Darren for all his work and effort in the Basketball Victoria and podcast space over the years, and good luck to him and the family in the next chapter!

Making her podcast debut this week is Kat Gourley the Women’s & Girls Participation Manager at Basketball Victoria. The discussion this week is all around Women & Girls involvement in Basketball as players and coaches, and the role that coaches play in making the sport a safe space, including having male coaches as allies. If you coach women, girls, have a daughter playing, or want to make the sport a better place for everyone, there will be something to take out of this pod.

A podcast for everyone involved in the game, as we are joined by 3 time author, Gavin Freeman, to discuss Sports Psychology. There is something in there for coaches, players and parents, as we dive into how the mind works around sport, how starting or coming off the bench can impact on performance, the sometimes complex car ride to or from games, and how content at training sessions can help the brain – which can be lazy!

Delving into the world of coaching philosophies for this week. We discuss what they are, why they’re vital for coaches to have at all levels, how you would use it to work better with players, and how coaches can go about building one for themselves no matter what level they’re coaching at. It’s also a sad pod this week, as Coops is finishing one heck of a job at Basketball Victoria. Coops has brought energy, passion, knowledge and vulnerability to his time in the role and especially the podcast where he’s been a big part of educating coaches throughout the world. We can’t thank Coops enough for his contribution and wish him well on the future!

Great to welcome into the podcast Cassie Dover, Head Coach of the Women’s Indigenous Basketball Association (IBA) team. Cassie takes us through her pathway to get where she is, the experience she has had in coaching her own daughter, what she does in the coaches space, the work that the IBA is doing to promote basketball in the community for players, and how as coaches we can make an impact with our players.

Thanks to one of our listeners Coach Funz, we were made aware of a report commissioned by Luka Doncic on the state of the junior game around the world. It’s a fascinating look at what the landscape is in the sport, and the impact that we as coaches can have with our own development, but also player enjoyment. We unpack the 8 Core Principles of the Total Hoops Approach and how it applies to our landscape as coaches. If you’re interested, you can download the report here: https://lukadoncicfoundation.org/iyb-report/