GOLD COAST (Australia) – The Marty Handson Scholarship Program has concluded with Marlene Lumabi from the Northern Mariana Islands and Siale Bain-Vete from Tonga selected as the scholarship recipients.

The Marty Handson Scholarship Program was a three-month program implemented in partnership with FIBA and Basketball Victoria to prepare coaches and develop their skills for the upcoming events taking place in Oceania including the FIBA Oceania U17 Championship and Pacific Games.

Siale Bain-Vete was surprised to receive the scholarship among 20 other participants from Fiji, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, and Tonga.

“When I received the news, I was pretty surprised and feel incredibly grateful,” Bain-Vete said.  “I’m excited for the opportunity and really looking forward to learning from the coaches in Australia.  I hope that having access to the different playing styles and systems will help potentially identify approaches that can be adapted in Tonga to help us promote and grow the game.”

Bain-Vete and Lumabi will both travel to Victoria in Australia on the Marty Handson Scholarship and spend 10 days embedded in the Basketball Victoria system.  From grassroots development programs to underage programs and NBL1 trainings and game day experiences, the scholarship will provide both participants with the opportunity to learn from a variety of coaches.

Marlene Lumabi was equally as surprised to receive the scholarship and is eager for the opportunity to further develop her coaching methods during her time in Victoria.

“Receiving the Marty Handson Scholarship is an honour and a blessing,” Lumabi said.  “I am so excited and eager to learn new things to further expand my knowledge of basketball, I look forward to learning from all the coaches especially their experiences and how they have overcome any difficulties.

“I’m also looking forward to learning new strategies for both practise sessions and games, being able to observe basketball players across all stages of development to see how they are coached on and off the court will be great to see.”

Reflecting on the program workshops, both Bain-Vete and Lumabi, concluded that the lessons learnt will make them better coaches on and off the court.

“I found that there was such a wealth of knowledge being shared by presenters and so much experience to learn from interacting with my fellow coaches during the online workshops throughout the Marty Handson Scholarship Program,” Bain-Vete said. 

One of the biggest lessons is that I need to remember to do my best to enjoy being where my feet are. I need to slow down and enjoy my coaching journey.

 For Lumabi, the workshops provided valuable insight into athlete physical and mental development for peak performance and enjoyment of basketball.  “My favourite topic covered were leadership and mindset, strength and condition for basketball athletes and recovery and nutrition for young athletes,” Lumabi said. 

“I believe these are important focus points and educating coaches and athletes about these topics will be pivotal for the development of our sport on Island.”

Complimenting the FIBA Global Strategy, the Marty Handson Scholarship Program supports empowering national federations through boosting grassroots programs, enabling access to coaching development across the region.