These notes, reflections and observations by Alan Keane (England u18 National Team Head Coach) from the FIBA U18 European Championship 2019 is too good not to share – much less to allow to get lost in the Twitterverse. Raw. Candid. Actionable. This is the kind of share that helps to deepen our collective perspective of …
How you coach the game with no shot clock is different than how you coach it with a shot clock. Here’s why this impacts player development.
This. Is. A. Coaching. Masterclass…! Seriously. It’s rare to observe basketball practices that have been mindfully designed to integrate the mental, technical, physical, social and competive constraints in a way that reads like a book. This is why we (affectionately) call Mike MacKay: Yoda Master MacKay. In his day “job”, he’s the Women’s High Performance …
Many refer to it as POSITIONLESS play. Years ago, while working with Canada Basketball, we had referred to it as developing the ‘global’ player (i.e. players that could shoot, pass, and dribble from all positions). Perhaps, better said, it’s PERMISSION-LESS… players are no longer seeking permission to initiate from multiple positions, in multiple ways. Perhaps, …
The teacher-coach that I am now is substantially different from who I was in the 1990s and early 2000s. When asked recently why that is, the response comes easily: Mario DeSisti. Granted I’ve had a number of basketball mentors (see: Mike MacKay) who have had – and continue to have – a profound impact on …
I’m going through some of my basketball clinic notes and came across this ‘checklist’ from Ettore Messina on post player development… Here are the five (5) questions any coach or young post player must be able to answer ‘Yes!’ to in order to be able to be a contributor on their basketball team. Can the …
“A gifted athlete with poor understanding of the game will be slower to react than a slower player who better understands the game.” —Ettore Messina The more dribble penetrations that are allowed, the more help is required and subsequently, more susceptible your team is to offensive rebounds. In an ideal world, each player on your …
One of the things that I enjoy about FIBA basketball is how skilled the players are. Since beginning to study and learn more about international basketball, the differences in style of play, rules, and player development structure, the one thing that jumps out is how the shot clock impacts how the game is taught, played …
I attended a fantastic basketball clinic that featured renowned European coach Jasmin Repeša. Coach Repeša has risen through the ranks of international basketball, first as a player and now as a coach. Aside from being the Croatian National team coach, Repeša has also recently worked with Euroleague contender Lottomatica Roma and previously won two Turkish …
Two for two with our 2009 U16 Canadian national teams! Congrats to all the athletes and coaches who bought in and played an integral role in the success of both our men’s and women’s cadet/te national teams. As Senior Women’s National Team Coach, Allison McNeill, reminded us: “It takes an entire village to raise a …