BasketBall australia annual report 2008

Basketball Australia Annual Report 2008Basketball Australia Annual Report 2008DevelopingIndigenousAthletesBuoyed by the successes of Rohanee Cox (Opals), Patrick Mills (Boomers)and Nathan Jawai (drafted to the NBA) it was a banner year for BA’sIndigenous Sports and National Deadly programs, which are madepossible by funding from the Australian Sports Commission.Photo: Kangaroo PhotoThe Indigenous Sports Program continues to supportstates and territories in delivering sustainableprograms in Indigenous communities. Theseprograms include conducting coaching and officiatingcourses as well as ‘how to run a competition’ coursesso that the programs can be self-delivered in thecommunities.National Deadly ProgramIn 2008 the National Deadly Program achievedexceptional positive results for basketball. Regionalcoaches were targeted nationwide to identify,deliver and monitor athletes in the program withsome regions in Queensland and northern NSW alsoconducting Regional Camps.Nationally, with the support of coaches andAustralian Sports Commission Regional Coordinators,a total of 241 athletes were evaluated. The NationalDeadly Squad, through the support of Head CoachTim Mallon, was established and consisted of 33athletes (13 female, 20 male), with 16 coachesactive in the program.Two athletes in the National Deadly Squad, JoshuaThomas and Keehan West, gained selection toteams that competed at BA’s National JuniorChampionships, with neither athlete havingcompeted at this level prior to their involvementwith the program.Indigenous Sports ProgramPhoto: Getty Images32 www.basketball.net.auTwo National Deadly Camps were conducted in2008 and included intense training sessions, eliteathlete education (sport psychology, nutrition, Drugsin Sport) and time spent living at the AIS. A DeadlyCoach Workshop was also conducted to educateeight coaches involved with the program.Basic physical testing was conducted by the ASCRegional Coordinators to identify athletes withpotential. Through the support of Eric Drinkwater(Charles Sturt University) and David Pyne (AIS)further comprehensive testing was conducted at theNational Deadly Camps.Olympic role models Patrick Mills, Rohanee Coxand the first Indigenous NBA Draft Pick NathanJawai as well as the pathways they took to reachthe top were publicised through BA publicationsand posters. These were distributed to all state/territory associations and Indigenous networks.Former Olympian Danny Morseu has also spokento athletes and displayed support for the program.Media support for the program also came from WINTV (Northern NSW), ABC Radio (Cairns), The CanberraTimes, The Northern Daily Leader and The CoffsHarbour Chronicle.The Deadly Program gained support fromorganisations including Midnight Basketball Australia,Djarragun College (Cairns), South AustralianAboriginal Sports Training Academy, NSW South WestAcademy and Clontarf Academy (WA), for which BAis sincerely appreciative.Basketball Australia is committed to the NationalDeadly Program while funding, opportunities andinclusion to existing programs is being sought for itsongoing sustainability.Photo: Getty Imageswww.basketball.net.au33