The Basketball Queensland (BQ) Player and Coach Development team visited Central Queensland in November to deliver a range of development programs across Rockhampton and Mackay.

Coach Development

The two final regional coaches conferences for 2023 were run on Friday and Saturday evening, in Rockhampton and Mackay respectively. Leading on from the recent defence-focused BQ coaching clinics run in the region, Player and Coach Development Manager Luke McGuire and Basketball Development Officer Patrick McInerney presented primarily on offensive concepts.

The sessions opened with a masterclass on skill development, including ball-handling (stationary, on the move and 2-ball dribbling), passing (encouraging coaches to incorporate game-like examples into drills at training) and a variety of ways to finish around strong defenders in the keyway, in order to keep up with the evolution of the game and compete at a higher level. Luke McGuire demonstrated all skills in practice with attending players, running them through a range of advantage 1v1 drills.

Next, transition offence was highlighted, with an emphasis on giving players an understanding of where to go and what they are trying to do in order to help teams be more effective in these situations. Coaches were also told to stress the importance of spacing, i.e. having lane runners (wings) go wide to create space.

Patrick McInerney concluded the sessions with a run-through of the BQ motion offence, focused on details (spacing and actions), timing (holding your space until it is your opportunity to make a play towards the ball) and speed (going at a fast pace to put increased pressure on the defence).

Player Development

On Saturday, 30 Under 12 and Under 14 junior athletes joined Patrick McInerney at Rockhampton Basketball in a session that focused on the Basketball Queensland Style of Play. Players worked on individual skills, defence and playing at pace, picking up concepts quickly and doing an effective job of incorporating these into game play at the end of the session.

On Sunday, 50+ junior athletes attended the Mackay U12 Next Gen Camp across 2 highly competitive sessions. In the morning, players focused on defence and worked on ‘walling up’, closing out and good help defence positioning/communication. They transitioned to offensive work in the afternoon, learning about receiver spots (moving on teammates’ penetration to create space and opportunity), wide lane running and providing space to attack.

The trip concluded on Monday morning, with a Next Gen Shooting program session for selected Mackay athletes. They focused on foot-work, technique and building consistency with their shooting from mid-range.

The successful weekend trip to Rockhampton & Mackay concludes the BQ Player and Coach Development team’s regional visits this year. The department is looking forward to returning in 2024 and continuing to provide education and development opportunities for our regional athletes and coaches!

Visit the BQ Calendar for future BQ Player and Coach Development events or checkout the upcoming Next Gen Camps here.