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Executive SummaryAREASOFEMPHASISGUIDELINES FOR COACHESWhy Do We Need AreasOf Emphasis?Ongoing consultative work from each ofthe home countries’ basketball governingbodies has revealed agreement among thebasketball community on the need for ashared set of techniques, skills, concepts,coaching philosophies and language.Together, these constitute a constantlyevolving set of knowledge often referred toas a “curriculum”.A curriculum must start somewhere. Itmust have a focus as it highlights its“themes” and “content”. A curriculummust be relevant to all levels within theBritish system.The curriculum is for clubs and nationalleague teams whose primary focus is notonly to play the game but also to teach thegame and the fundamentals well. Juniorprograms like academies and anyoneresponsible for, or delivering a fee forservice, should take particular meaningfrom these guidelines. This document isthe guideline for the minimum standardof teaching and coaching basketball inthe UK.Development programs within the homecountries framework will by their nature beprimarily concerned with theimplementation of these guidelines asBritish Basketball has now established astrategy for the 2016 Olympic cycle,Towards 2016 (T16).Schools have always played an importantrole in the development and teaching ofbasketball. These guidelines and curriculumpackage are as relevant to schools as theyare to clubs and coaches.Post London 2012 and the increasedparticipation in basketball, schools will befaced with increased demand and theneed for guidance for our coaches willalso be most important for teaching andcoaching the next generation.Key areas have now been identified asneeding urgent attention and areintroduced in this document.Even our very best players have commonweaknesses that if addressed wouldsignificantly improve the performance ofour club teams and the quality of ourcompetitions as well as our national teams,allowing us to compete with the best teamsin FIBA Europe Division A. The Areas ofEmphasis also allow us to establishinternational best practice in key aspects ofthe game, which, in time, will result in skillsbeing taught similarly across the nationfrom club to school to league to country.We want to be coaching well and focusingon the key aspects.“If we keep doing what we havealways done, we will always getwhat we have already got!”Simply put, we need to refocus oncoaching and highlight the areas of mostneed of emphasis. An improvement in theseareas won’t just impact those playing forGB, players across the pathway from clubto national team will benefit by improvingtheir basic skills in these areas.3