Making her podcast debut this week is Kat Gourley the Women’s & Girls Participation Manager at Basketball Victoria. The discussion this week is all around Women & Girls involvement in Basketball as players and coaches, and the role that coaches play in making the sport a safe space, including having male coaches as allies. If you coach women, girls, have a daughter playing, or want to make the sport a better place for everyone, there will be something to take out of this pod.

A podcast for everyone involved in the game, as we are joined by 3 time author, Gavin Freeman, to discuss Sports Psychology. There is something in there for coaches, players and parents, as we dive into how the mind works around sport, how starting or coming off the bench can impact on performance, the sometimes complex car ride to or from games, and how content at training sessions can help the brain – which can be lazy!

Delving into the world of coaching philosophies for this week. We discuss what they are, why they’re vital for coaches to have at all levels, how you would use it to work better with players, and how coaches can go about building one for themselves no matter what level they’re coaching at.

It’s also a sad pod this week, as Coops is finishing one heck of a job at Basketball Victoria. Coops has brought energy, passion, knowledge and vulnerability to his time in the role and especially the podcast where he’s been a big part of educating coaches throughout the world. We can’t thank Coops enough for his contribution and wish him well on the future!

Great to welcome into the podcast Cassie Dover, Head Coach of the Women’s Indigenous Basketball Association (IBA) team. Cassie takes us through her pathway to get where she is, the experience she has had in coaching her own daughter, what she does in the coaches space, the work that the IBA is doing to promote basketball in the community for players, and how as coaches we can make an impact with our players.

Thanks to one of our listeners Coach Funz, we were made aware of a report commissioned by Luka Doncic on the state of the junior game around the world. It’s a fascinating look at what the landscape is in the sport, and the impact that we as coaches can have with our own development, but also player enjoyment. We unpack the 8 Core Principles of the Total Hoops Approach and how it applies to our landscape as coaches.

If you’re interested, you can download the report here: https://lukadoncicfoundation.org/iyb-report/

With the back half of many seasons fast approaching we are anticipating some tight games, so we discuss what the late game tactics are that coaches might need to consider when the pressure comes on! Strap in as as Besty takes us through his recent Japan and US travels, some of the basketball experiences he’s had, and the different styles of basketball from around the globe.

For a lot of coaches, they’re approaching the mid-point of the season and what better time than now to get a check in with your players? It’s a great time to sit down with players and review goals from the start of the season, see if you can set new goals, find out more about your team culture, and give both coaches and players the opportunity to deliver and receive feedback to make it as positive an experience for everyone involved.

We have talked a lot about development on the podcast over the years, so we look to unpack it a little more this week. How does it feel, how does it happen and what can we do as coaches to help assist in the development of the players, when we all live in a world where winning is prioritised by so many? Any coach shoutouts you’ve got, send them through and be sure to check out the Talking Split pages on Instagram and X!

Back for another block of podcasts, and we are discussing some of the things that might go unnoticed from players or parents, about the coaches. There is a whole dynamic that some may not be aware of and can be explored to create a more harmonious environment for all involved. Along with building resiliency in athletes, and the U18 Nationals, there is something for everyone this week!

It’s taken us a while, but we’ve finally got Besty back on the podcast this week and the carrot we had to throw out there was talking about one of his favourites – Shell Drill. It’s a staple of most team training sessions, with onball defence, offball defence and all kinds of cutting and screening options being worked on, so we discuss the different areas of focus, why it’s important and some of the different ways you can run it at your training session.