St John's College hosted the inaugural Basketball Coaches Conference on 10 and 11 July.
While the conference proposed no instant solutions to the challenges facing school basketball, it was an important first step in identifying the issues and getting the right people talking about how to address them, according to Clemen Kock, fondly known as Coach Clem, Head of Basketball at St John's College and convenor of the event.
"Schools invest quite a lot in basketball, but we are not making a much-needed impact as a collective," said Coach Clem. "We thought it would be a good idea to get everyone together before the season starts to learn from the experts, and each other."
Coaches heard from experts in the field before splitting into breakout sessions where they could ask questions and learn from one another.
"Bringing in the experts was important for delegates to have some nuggets and workable solutions to take back to their respective spaces for the upcoming season, on aspects like nutrition, periodisation and mental skills, especially since we looked at basketball-specific best practices," said Coach Clem.
"The growth of the game at a school level has been spectacular, but we haven't had the time to define the school basketball ecosystem and to determine our role in it," he added.
One issue is how to fulfil basketball's dual roles: as a mass-participation activity within schools' physical education programmes and as a high-performance sport with elite players who want to pursue professional careers.
"At the same time, we have to be accountable and act within the ethical and educational parameters that our schools demand of us," Coach Clem said.
Those were among the issues discussed, along with the development and management systems that can deliver at both levels.
"We were never going to get the answers at a conference like this, but we did agree that there has to be more engagement on these issues now, and that the conference has to be an annual event from now on," Coach Clem concluded.
Thanks to all who joined us, and we look forward to sharing again next year.
