Talking Split

It doesn’t matter if it’s fish in a barrel, on Fortnite, or pull up 3’s in transition – shooting is a massive part of what our players are doing now. We have a look about what we can be teaching our athletes, what the important teaching points are, what types of shots we want our players taking, and how we can help them depending on how we are coaching them. There are some shooting “myths” we tackle, and how we can try to help produce the next generation of perimeter shooters!

This week we are looking at a space we haven’t touched on in over 80 episodes – coaching in senior programs. We explore the importance of being transparent, knowing the parameters, how to assemble a team, how to work in with junior programs and everything in between. Even if you’re a junior coach, this could remove a few of the barriers to get involved in the senior coaching space.

Fantastic guest podcaster this week! Dr Alex Lascu is a skill acquisition specialist by trade and currently lectures at the University of Canberra. Her passion for talent development and community sport is contagious, with over a decade in coaching and a PhD in skill acquisition for women’s cricket. She enjoys existing in the gap between research and practice in the hopes of bringing these two worlds together. Find Alex on Twitter at @skillacqlascu, via email at Alexandra.lascu@canberra.edu.au and her website at www.skillacqwhisperer.com Huge thanks to Alex for jumping into the podcast, where she provides so much content for coaches to consider with their coaching!

Bit of a different episode this week, where we delve into some “Would you Rather” situations with our coaches and seek their opinions on several topics relating to basketball and coaching. If you’re listening, you’re welcome to give your opinion on some of the topics using the #TalkingSplit, and a reminder we have a Mailbag episode coming up soon, so send in any questions you might have!

Sometimes sport can be cruel, you can do the work and not get the reward that you were hoping for. You can be disappointed, upset, and frustrated, so we go over some of the things that players can look to do to improve after disappointment. The world of Strength & Conditioning, finding a good coach to help you improve, watching film all rate a mention. Now that you’ve got some ideas, get back to work!

Now that coaches have picked their teams, or are about to pick them, we look at some of the things that can make the season go a little better if you’re on top of them early. So much of what coaches do is focused around the on-court component, when we have just as much to take care of, off the court. We discuss the first parent meeting, what you need to go over, how to work with the parents, how to build team cohesion and what you should be looking at doing in your first training session with the group.

After 2 weeks off for the chaos of school holidays programs and selections, we are back this week to talk through what we all saw at the U12 Jamboree in Echuca, the FIBA Women’s World Cup and offer some advice and guidance to coaches that are going through one of the most stressful parts of their job – team selection.

In his final innings for Basketball Victoria, we have enlisted the help of BV's social guru Jarrod Potter to take coaches through how to navigate the world of social media, and how to use it for good instead of the dangerous world it can lead to! After six years, Jarrod is leaving Basketball Victoria, and he has has been a phenomenal supporter of not just the podcast, but basketball everywhere across the state. A huge thanks to Jarrod for all the time, care, and memories he has supplied to so many over the years!

Some rules are written (like don’t play zone in U12s or U14s), others are unwritten but common sense (like not clearing your throat into the microphone when recording a podcast – well done Zoe), and others are straight up unwritten and maybe not considered by everyone. We take a bit of a look into some of the things that we recommend coaches investigate doing and some that can be better left alone. There will be heaps of others we haven’t touched on, but you’re always welcome to send through an email for the next time we visit this topic or use the #TalkingSplit on Twitter where we will pick them up from!

There are so many great quotes about planning, and it’s that way for a reason – it’s important! We look at why coaches need to plan, some best practices for getting the most out of a training session, and what the content needs to look like when you step on the floor with the athletes. For coaches wanting some templates for session plans, just drop me an email on rob.coulter@basketballvictoria.com.au