BEIRUT (Lebanon) - A Sports Performance Specialist (SPS) program was organized by FIBA Regional Office - Asia in Tehran, Iran from 13-14 January.

The Sports Performance Specialist Program (SPS) is the Regional Office's initiative that aims to empower local physical trainers in Asia and to promote strength and conditioning in the national teams and local clubs.

Participants of the program were engaged and left feeling have benefitted from their participation.

Javid Jafarnejad said: "The program was held in a very neat and orderly manner and it was a great opportunity for a lot of coaches to get familiarized with the game of basketball."

Another participant, Behrouz Mahdavi said: "Overall, this level 1 clinic was very useful and insightful for all the trainers who participated."

The objectives of the SPS program are to instruct coaches, athletes, and stakeholders regarding the strength and conditioning of the Basketball game; spread awareness through education to have better return on investments for basketball clubs and management; have a pool of local candidates to hire qualified strength and conditioning coaches for planning and implementing programs across national teams and clubs; improve the athletic capabilities of the national teams and Clubs by building young generations with proper biomechanics/human movement; and decrease injury incidence among players.

Mehdi Hasanzadeh said: "We discussed the correct techniques of movements such as running, jumping, and lifting weights before increasing the pressure on the players, which is an issue that is not paid attention to. We usually see that the coaches focus more on increasing the strength of the players rather than correcting them."

Iran is the most recent country to have hosted the SPS program organized by FIBA Regional Office - Asia, with the first-ever program being hosted in Lebanon.  The SPS program also took place in Palestine, Qatar, Maldives, Syria, Mongolia, Iran, Singapore, Kuwait, and Turkmenistan.

The Regional Office, through this program, is aiming to lay the foundation of physical training, through education, to elevate the standard of strength and conditioning coaches in basketball.

FIBA