GOLD COAST (Australia) – The Oceania Tournament Coach Course is ready for tip-off this June with a swag of Australian and New Zealand basketball royalty lined up to facilitate the nine-week course.

From building coaching plans to talent identification, conducting trials, leadership and technical systems, the course has been designed to empower National Federation coaches with the confidence and ability to coordinate and maintain successful programs.

Siale Bain-Vete from Tonga will be participating in the program and is looking forward to the course having  fallen in love with the game at the age of ten.  Bain-Vete has played basketball in Fiji, New Caledonia and the United Kingdom and represented Tonga at the 2018 Polynesian Cup and 2019 Pacific Games.

“When I first started playing basketball, I didn’t think I’d ever do, but now I would love to do so and give back to the game that has enabled me to make friends all over the world and given me so much joy,” Bain-Vete said.

 Siale Bain-Vete playing for Tonga at the 2019 Pacific Games

“I still play basketball competitively and have wanted to start transitioning to coaching for some time, I see this course as an opportunity to do so.  I am particularly looking forward to the modules on plan formulation, leadership and game scouting as well as the learning and potentially being mentored by other players, coaches and basketball professionals.”

Participating Federations include Fiji, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, New Caledonia and Tonga.  FIBA Oceania Development Manager, Annie La Fleur OLY said she was pleased to see so many coaches taking the initiative to further develop their skills.

“This course has been designed to support and compliment coaches who want to learn more, become better coaches and have the ability to bring others along on the journey,” La Fleur said. “National Federations were asked to nominate coaches for this course and we are really pleased to have so many on board for this opportunity.

“It is encouraging to see the number of coaches willing and eager to expand their knowledge base and to have the support of coaches across Australia and New Zealand willing to assist through the role of facilitating and mentoring.  Through this course, we really want to create a community that provides coaches with the right support to introduce new themes and challenge them to go outside their comfort zone.”

Facilitators will include Tony Casella, Renae Garlepp, Jamie Petty, Aik Ho, Jacqui O’Neill, Lauren King, James Begley and Darren Smith.  Support coaches for the course will also include Joel Khalu, Tania Hunter, Nic Martin, Curtis Sardi, Jenni Screen, Ashley Arnott and Joellen How.

This course compliments FIBA’s strategic objective of empowering national federations with qualified tournament coaches coordinating national programs across Oceania providing opportunity for the next generation of basketballers.  The Oceania Tournament Coach Course starts on June 7 and will conclude on August 7 with all modules being conducted online. 

World Association of Basketball Coaches

If you are a basketball coach or want to find more information, online courses, teaching videos and additional resources can be found on the World Association of Basketball Coaches website CLICK HERE.