MIES (Switzerland) - FIBA and the World Association of Basketball Coaches (WABC) have held successful Coach Instructor courses in Africa, the Americas, and Asia to further enhance skills and knowledge across the global basketball community.

The World Association of Basketball Coaches (WABC) is committed to enhancing the quality of the sport by improving the skills of those entrusted to teach the game. This objective is in line with FIBA's key strategic priority of 'Empowering National Federations', and it adds to the array of FIBA PLUS support provided to National Federations to help them develop their coach instructors' capacities - something which the Level 1 Coach Instructor courses have been contributing directly to. 

By prioritizing the availability of more Coaching Instructors who can deliver courses in their respective nations, it leads to a deeper pool of effectively trained coaches - a big positive for federations.

The courses involved three days of intense theoretical and practical sessions. A new selection process has been implemented this year, along with an online preparation program that was warmly welcomed by candidates. This was also the first time that this course was delivered in multiple languages.  

The primary goal of the three coach instructor courses was to provide each participant with effective presentation methods, concepts and approaches. Additionally, participants had the opportunity to observe a live basketball practice session, which helped them learn how to assess a coach's competence.

Designing and delivering the content together, there was excellent and valued feedback from all regions. Nour Amri from Morocco conducted all three courses along with four other instructors. Amri is a member of the WABC Executive Committee and also an expert on the highly regarded FIBA PLUS program. 

FIBA WABC Level 1 Coach Instructor Course, Africa 

For the Level 1 Coach Instructor course in Africa, it was the first time there was a French speaking only event. This took place in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire with 16 participants from 11 National Federations.

Jean-Michel Ramaroson, President of the Development Council of FIBA Africa said: "If we want to improve the quality of the sport and 'level up the game', we must develop the quality of our technical staff and especially those who will instruct our coaches.

"The specificity of this edition was the new approach, with a more rigorous selection of participants and preparation, as it is crucial for FIBA to have the best quality instructors to achieve even better training across the continent."

FIBA WABC Level 1 Coach Instructor Course, Americas

In the Americas, there were 15 participants from 13 different countries on board for the event in Miami, USA and there was a similar trailblazing theme. The course was held for the first time in Spanish.

Omar Quintero, the Head Coach of Mexico, a nation that will compete at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico was in attendance for the course.

He stated: "These three days have been a great learning experience, because they have challenged us as coaches and have given us all the tools to be an instructor, which is different from being a coach.

"On the other hand, we had the opportunity to share knowledge with different coaches and different cultures, but all with the same goal of being better and being able to replicate the knowledge in our countries."

FIBA WABC Level 1 Coach Instructor Course, Asia

Last but not least, in Asia there were 15 candidates from 13 different countries in attendance for the three-day course held in the Indian city of Chennai.  

Arnika Patil, FIBA WABC Instructor for coach instructors and a coach in India commented: "FIBA and the WABC's continuing work is bringing coaches together under one umbrella, aiming to elevate standards across the world by providing educational opportunities through Coach Instructor courses.

"The coaches who attended the course in Chennai demonstrated a great willingness to learn the concepts and left content. This is something every federation should look forward to," she concluded. 

FIBA