Building Better Basketball

Ben Sherwood - Building Better Basketball

Ben was a determined but mediocre youth athlete and later a bench-warmer on his high school basketball and volleyball teams. But life got better when Ben gave up competitive sports. Most recently, he worked as co-chairman of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney ABC Television. Before that, he was president of ABC News and executive producer of Good Morning America. A bestselling author of four books, he is also an avid coach of his two boys in various sports. And that is where Ben's Australian story starts as the CEO of MOJO Sports. Mojo Sports are the newest partner of Basketball Australia and the creators of the exciting new Coach Development app free for all Basketball coaches in Australia. In the episode Neil and Ben run through all the amazing things the app can do to make a coaches life easier, improve the quality of practices, engage the players so in some cases they might want to practice more then play and help future coaches be volunteers instead of Voluntolds!
You can download the app here, MOJO Sports on the App Store (apple.com) . Remember to set your State or Territory as your main organisation (e.g. Basketball Victoria) so you can receive all the relevant coaching news!MOJO FAQ’s | Basketball Australia

Basketball Australia Coaches Conference - Building Better Basketball

Just a special solo quick shot with Neil to run through the amazing schedule for the Upcoming National Coaches Conference which you can read about and sign up for here Schedule Announced for National Coaches Conference | Basketball Australia Coaching Resource . Neil also teases a big announcement for Community Coaches next Tuesday at midday, keep your eyes peeled!

Priyanka Karunakaran - Building Better Basketball

Todays guest has more stamps in her passport than anyone we have ever had on the podcast before as Basketball has taken her all over the world! Priyanka Karunakaran is the Head of Operations for the Rollers, Gliders, Spinners, Devils and all National 3x3 teams! If that wasn’t enough in a normal year she is also working with a focus to the Paris Comm Games in 2024! There are so many different ways Pri has involvement with coaches and also a unique perspective across all the different formats of the game!

Caitlin Grove - Building Better Basketball

Second to their players, Coaches probably have the most communication with referees on game days, rightly or wrongly! So we thought it was important to get an insight into how that communication works from a referee's perspective, the challenges they have on the floor, how they review and improve and the age old art of communication. Neil is joined by Caitlin Grove, Technical Officials Development Officer from Basketball NSW. Caitlin has been a ref since she was 14 years old and is a familiar face at recent Footlocker National Championships.

Martin Heppell - Building Better Basketball

If there was one mental skill set you would want a basketball player to have young or old, Resilience would be high up there.  Neil is joined by Martin Heppell from the world famous Resilience Project to talk about all his learnings working with young people about resilience, his experience both as a professional athlete, a parent and now someone working in the mental health space and finally perhaps the most passionate selection of a coach you would want to ask a question too on record!

Bec Allen - Building Better Basketball

Bec Allen has been a fan favorite all around the world in the WNBL, WNBA and Euro Basket! With her defensive ability and Sharp shooting skills it’s easy to see why she is often one that catches a watching coaches eye for ideas on how they can get their players to come close to replicating her talents. Neil and Bec get stuck into her philosophy on shooting, the coach who said it was defense or bench and plenty of chat about the importance of whats going on between the ears!

Tess Madgen - Building Better Basketball

This weeks guest needs no introduction to the Basketball public in Australia! Opals captain, WNBL champion, role model for basketball fans everywhere, Tess Madgen. We are going to touch on her amazing playing career which still has lots of time to had to her accolades but what some people might not be aware of is the power of work that Tess is doing on the other side of the sidelines as a coach with the Melbourne Boomers academy and her She Hoops Masterclasses with Madgen. Tess discusses the coaches that shaped her career coming through, the battles with her brothers and what that taught her and the importance of the captain-coach relationship.

Mel Downer - Building Better Basketball

Covering off a wide range of topics from South Australia Country Basketball & Basketball New Zealand , Mel Downer joins Neil to talk her unique coaching journey, advice she gives to coaches she works with, her strong belief on balance & the future Opals player/coach in her own house!
 
 
 
 
 
 

Fiona McCarthy - Building Better Basketball

Fiona is a Sports Psychologist who has worked with numerous athletes, coaches, officials and parents across a large number of sports, at all levels from local level to international level. Providing support and information for sporting parents is a true passion for her. Helping parents to understand how to assist their sporting child reach their full potential and enjoy their sport is a key area of her work. This has lead to the creation of a series of resources with the NSW Office of Sport. Parents, Guardians and Carers | NSW Government
Neil and Fiona dive deep into the parent and coach relationship and hopefully share a few helpful ideas!

Peter Lonergan - Building Better Basketball

Todays guest will be no stranger to all of you and I’m sure you are all wondering why it has taken till now for him to make an appearance as his name is synonymous with Basketball Coach Development in Australia. Peter Lonergan is the Director of High Performance Coach Development for Basketball Australia.  Peter is an influential coach educator impacting coaching development around the world. He has been an Australian Opals Assistant Coach, a highly successful State Director of Coaching in Victoria and New South Wales, and an international clinician for FIBA. In the last year I have lost count of the number of clinics Pete has presented at or resources he has produced or Basketball tournaments he has attended