Coach Arsego to visit Fiji to help their FIBA U15 Oceania Championship preparation
FIJI – Singapore national basketball team coach Frank Arsego will visit Fiji on May 23-25 to help the country in their preparation for the FIBA U15 Oceania Championships.
Arsego’s visit is the result of the High-Peformance workshop in the Gold Coast in 2017, with Thomas Acosta of Basketball Fiji attending the workshop.
“I will be sharing how to form the big picture and then manage this one-by-one,” said Acosta after attending the workshop. “Ensuring that we have checkpoints and deadlines so that we are implementing this properly.” He added.
Acosta, the Fiji National Team Assistant and Manager, is leading the charge and believes how important a well-planned preparation can help Fiji in their campaign for the U15 Championships happening in December 2018.
“The most important lesson for me is to set up goals. We lack in planning so having these detailed instructions and a process to follow will really help us. It’s just like basketball, the more you practice the better you get – once we implement these teachings and the process the improvements will follow.”
With Basketball Fiji’s full support and collaborative effort with FIBA Oceania, they have been working with Australian Frank Arsego for two months with constant Skype calls while providing coaching materials for their coaches.
“The preparation phase for the Under 15 program commenced back in 2017 with their attendance at the HP workshop on the Gold Coast, it was at this workshop that the understanding of planning and preparation are a key component to the success of the program. We mapped out a full calendar of events for 2018,” said Arsego.
The official formation of the Fiji U15 National team is in its final stages with the coaches nearing the official selection of their squad that will compete later this year.
“The coaches have just completed their talent ID and evaluation phase; this was done by watching the players in their local competitions and open selection trials."
"From this process they have now selected a squad of players both girls and boys that will now undertake the preparation phase for the program. This will be made of regular training sessions as well as camp sessions, like the one I will be attending in May for extensive development and evaluation sessions. This will be complemented with practice games as they move closer to the final selection of the teams,” shared Arsego.
Arsego will be visiting Fiji for the first time and acknowledged that despite his limited knowledge of their basketball scene, the outlook is promising because of their active participation in Oceania age group tournaments.
“I do know that Fiji has regularly attended Oceania age group tournaments and always gave a good account of themselves. Therefore I believe that this age group of players will be no different. As for the talent, these are young players who should at this point in time, be coming to terms with the fundamental skills of the game, and that will lay a foundation for enjoyment and success in basketball.” Arsego shared.
Aresgo is keen to establish the importance of representing their country with the future national team players, while focusing on their team play in his visit to the country this May.
“I believe in this age group the major focus should be on having a balance of "playing both sides of the ball". They should also be working on their skills of team play. They also need to learn what it means to represent your country as not everyone is selected to do so, and they must focus on having fun and enjoying the their time together with their team mates and coaches,” said the 4-time SEABL champion coach.
Fiji’s Senior Men’s basketball team has been a picture of excellence in the Quadrennial Pacific Games, with a Gold medal finish in 2007, fourth place finish in 2011 and Silver medal performance in 2015. The potential for the U15 national team is tantalizing to say the least and Arsego believes that they have a good chance in December this year.
“I believe when going into a tournament, every team has a chance. The fact that they have put in the work and time to prepare and they have an attitude of respect for their opponent then the result is usually decided by the best team on the day. If the teams bring their best effort, play as a team and listen to their coaches, I am confident they will give a good account of themselves,” he ended.