Building Better Basketball

Mike Thibault coached the Connecticut Sun and the Washington Mystics in the WNBA. In 2013, he became the WNBA's most successful all time coach with 212 victories. Lauren Jackson caught up with this ICON of the game to chat about his career, coaching philosophies and the sport he has dedicated his life to.

For more from the She Hoops Series make sure you are following their feed She Hoops on Apple Podcasts

Thie week Neil is joined by Jacqui Dover who brings with her a celebrated career and wealth of knowledge and experience in the referee space. Beginning at the grassroots level with Gold Coast Basketball she’s gone on to referee in the NBL1 (formerly QBL), WNBL and is currently the only on court female referee in the NBL.

Jacqui’s career has taken her around the world, notably spending 18 months in the United States at the NBA's referee development program. Along with this Dover recently officiated the Bronze Medal games at the Under 17-and 19-Women’s World Cup in Hungary and Spain respectively. As well as being part of the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in Sydney.

Jacqui is determined to leverage her own experiences to encourage more people to take up refereeing as a valuable pathway within the sport and also offers a fascinating insight for coaches into the Officials mindset and process.

Usually, we would write a blurb here introducing Crystal Kaua. Crystal might be known to some of you as a coach that Codey Royle worked with in his Second Set of eyes book. She is a kiwi rugby coach but in this episode she covers so much that has nothing to do with rugby. Crystal has a very powerful coaching philosophy, a very strong sense of self as a female coach in a predominantly male sport and arguably the most though provoking answer to the Podcast question of what would you ask a coach. Enjoy.

Neil is joined by someone who fills a vital role in sport which is uncommon in Basketball currently but on the rise. A 3 time WNCL winning support staff member, a soon to be one time Sheffield Shield winning staff member hopefully, Emma Doherty is the player Development Manager for Cricket Tasmania and she is going to share with us some insight about her role and hopefully give you some ideas about areas we could investigate in basketball 

His twin brother has been on the pod before he left our BA team for the Apple Isle and the Jackjumpers and he was someone I have been trying to get for a while! Now he is full time with BA as our Executive GM - High Performance & National Teams I finally managed to get 3 x NBl champion, 2005 NBL MVP, 2 time Olympian and former Boomers captain Jason Smith on the podcast. Jason is someone who is a very big supporter of coaching and coach development and has played a big part in the increased access we have been able to share with you in the recent years with the national teams when they are in Australia

Today is a bit of a special episode, Neil is joined by the 2023 Ford Aussie Hoops Coach of the year, Mackenzie Stewart from the Cockburn Cougars in Western Australia.

I’m just going to include the section from the nomination form that got Mackenzie the award, and then you will hear my chat with her and hopefully you are as impressed as I am by a young lady with a very bright future in coaching basketball if she wants it.

Mackenzie continues to focus on providing high quality programs that offer development of basketball skills, fundamentals and gameplay understanding for all junior skill levels. Meaning our programs meet both participation and performance needs for our community.

Neil is joined by Jarrod Moore, the Coach Development Manager from Basketball NSW. The discussion covers nurturing confidence, balancing development levels and the age old debate is there a difference between teaching and coaching!

In today's episode, we are thrilled to delve into the inspiring journey and expertise of Opal Sami Whitcomb, a dynamic force in the world of basketball. With an impressive career spanning both domestic and international arenas, Sami's unique insights, skillset, and dedication to the game make her a standout figure in the basketball community. Join us as we explore her experiences, insights, and the invaluable lessons she brings to the court, offering our listeners a wealth of knowledge for building better basketball skills and strategies.

Welcome back to season 4 of Building Better Basketball. Neil Gray Game Development Manager at Basketball Australia is joined by Tyrone Thwaites from the Cockburn Basketball Association in Western Australia. Cockburn are an association with 336 teams, the largest Aussie Hoops program in Australia for 2 years running and home to a Womens NBL1 Championship side and an NBL 1 Coach of the year who also happens to be their Chief executive Officer! No prizes for guessing that’s Tyrone!

Our first return guest on Building Better Basketball and he is back to talk about one of the biggest issue that coaches face, PARENTS!

He has a fantastic new book out called the Sports Parent Solution and in this episode he dives into the questions, the solutions and the experiences in that book across the vast spectrum of parent involvement in the game.

A must listen for any coach working with young athletes!