OCEANIA COACHES STUDY TOUR REPORT - Fiba Oceania

Report from Michael Whippy of Fiji:
Firstly, I’d like to thank FIBA Oceania for giving me the opportunity to attend the tour and be a part
of the pioneering coaches on the first Oceania Coaches study tour. Meeting the other coaches and
hearing of how basketball was developing in their various countries and just mixing and sharing with
them over the duration of the tour was one of the highlights for me.
To say I learnt something new every day would be an understatement. One of the problems I’ve
always had is finding how to put basketball knowledge together, to best suit the style of play you
want your team to follow. In the numerous visits we had, to the ITCP clinics, the schools, the under
12’s, the AIS and the Dandenong association, I can now see how I can put this knowledge to the best
use and keep practices interesting.
I think the tour itinerary was very well thought out, because it not only gave us coaches first hand
experience in watching live practice sessions, but it also gave us direct access to the many coaches
whose sessions we attended and a chance to hear them speak about their programs, their experiences
and most importantly how they managed to get good results from their players.
Seeing how associations of some 8,000 players were run, competition, administration, finance,
maintenance etc was an experience for me, coming from a small association of some 360 players.
I found the Australian coaches very open and receptive to us and always willing to share their
coaching knowledge without prejudice. I thought that this was great and the experience of watching
ITCP coaches voluntarily running early morning sessions with kids, some of whom were on rival
teams probably could be another reason why the Australian junior basketball program is so
successful.
I thought the closing luncheon with Patrick Hunt and John Maddock was great in that it gave us all a
chance to wrap up and also witness a great presentation from John on Australian Basketball.
In closing I would like to thank firstly Judy Smith, for making it all happen, for making us feel at
home in a new environment and for her great organisation skills in putting the whole thing together.
Secondly I would like to thank FIBA Oceania for instigating a great idea. For us in the remote
basketball corners of the Pacific, this was literally bringing Mohammed to the mountain, and giving
us all the opportunity to witness first hand, why Australia is one of the top 3 basketball nations in the
world.
Thirdly, my thanks go out to Jon Hoyle and Stuart Manwaring. Having known them well prior to
tour, and then having them with us on the tour, contributed much towards our learning experiences,
as they were able to help us through a lot of the new drills, concepts and organisational methods that
we witnessed.
Participating on this tour has really broadened my knowledge on coaching and I look forward to
sharing this with my fellow Fiji coaches when I have organised the first session with them in two
weeks time.
Vinaaka
Michael Whippy
FIBA Oceania Coaches Study Tour to Australia 2004
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