MADRID (Spain) - There has been a great response to the international coaching forum which formed part of the recent FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2023 in Spain.

Delegates at the interactive forum gave great feedback on the six distinguished speakers who shared their knowledge and expertise on various topics across two half-day sessions on July 22 and 23.

There were some excellent discussions and exchanges between speakers and participants. The speakers included Anna Montanana, who helped host nation Spain come close to toppling USA at the event and the Assistant Coach and former national team star provided some fascinating insights for those in attendance.  She spoke about her pathway and the job opportunities she had considered, as well as how she navigated from coaching men to coaching women - and vice-versa.

Spain finished second at the U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2023

Team USA Assistant and renowned former player Delisha Milton who won Olympic and FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup titles, was instrumental in her nation capturing the title at the event in a thrilling Final that will be remembered for years to come. She discussed transitioning from the amateur level to professional basketball. 

Michael MacKay the High Performance Manager for Canada Basketball, offered his vast knowledge and spoke about physical play in the women's game and ensuring it is legal, safe and effective. Some of those elements were seen in Canada taking bronze and also meant three of the speakers taking part were all involved in the teams that occupied the podium steps. 

Other speakers included Great Britain playcaller Chema Buceta, who focused on sport psychology, Clarence Perez Diaz, a Sports Scientist who talked about the biological and physiological aspects of female athletes, while Alejandro Vaquera the FIBA Global Referees Fitness Coordinator and a Basketball Coach explained speed training for female players.

Organized as part of FIBA's Women In Basketball strategic priority, it was FIBA Secretary General, Andreas Zagklis who provided the welcome address at the event.

There was also support from FIBA Oceania Executive Director Amanda Jenkins and FIBA Central Board Member Carol Callan, as well as Lena Wallin-Kantzy, Deputy Chairwoman of FIBA's Competition Commission - Women in Basketball. 

Following the forum, Lena Wallin-Kantzy said: "This forum, which featured coaches from the two final teams, was an inspiring event for all who attended. It's great to see that FIBA's strategic priority, Women in Basketball, is providing programs like this, helping to enable National Federations to recruit, inspire, and develop more female leaders.

Recordings of the international coaching forum will be made available at a later stage.

FIBA