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VisitingCoach

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DownUnder 36 draw&dish Jan’06

VisitingCoach

Tell us about yourself and your team…

I’m the coach of an Australian club team in the Australian basketball league. We don’t play professionally. We’re not a national league team, we’re below national league. We’re a longstanding club team called the West Adelaide Bearcats.

Have you played against and how do you find the Singapore basketball players?

Yeah, we played them once. They’re very good and obviously very young. That’s why they lack experience in playing international games and that’s something which can only get better through time, and they will. They are very passionate, very enthusiastic and I think they are very well coached. They will get better very quickly.

How different is the women’s game from the men’s game from your point of view?

It’s very different. The men are much more athletic. They are able to jump above the ring, with shot blocking and dunking and things like that which they can do above the ring. The girls are obviously not as tall. It’s a different style of basketball. The girl’s basketball game can be more tactical, whereas in the men’s game, they use their skill and athleticism very well.

How do you feel about the system of nurturing basketball players in Australia?

The system is very good and starts at a very young age.

At 7-8 years of age, they are playing basketball, practising skills and it’s a very large base of kids playing basketball and doing those skills. We get to the stage whereby when they get to the age of 13-14, we identify the players with talent, the top players and then try to put them into strategic programmes to bring them through to senior ranks. It’s a long process and something which Singapore has only just started, but they are on the right track.

What do you feel the national players lack and how can they improve further?

Yeah, I think experience from playing in international games and tournaments such as this. Teams from Australia that show them different things, have bigger players and challenge them, so when they get to go to SEA games and things like that, and they get confronted with teams that are bigger, different, they don’t get surprised as much. I

think the new coaching director, Tracy York , from Australia can provide that experience in coaching which is also very important and the skill level needs to come up with drills and shooting.

What kind of commitment would you expect from your players?

Our players from Australia are not professional, so they train twice a week. They have full time jobs or they study in university. They train twice a week and they play once, twice a week.

How well do you think they are balancing their work or studies and basketball? Obviously you would like them to be able to practice more.

Study is very important and our players can’t make a living out of basketball. So if they want to be lawyers and doctors etc, they know study is very important. It’s a very fine balance. We try to get the balance right so when players have big exams, or when they have to go away for work, we understand. You know, there is no penalty for that. You have to be flexible with the way you handle the team.

So is there any form of grants for the basketball players?

Not really, our system is very similar to Singapore. We have the Basketball Association of South Australia, which looks after our club teams. They may get a little bit of assistance from the government but not a lot, and nothing direct to our club.

Do you follow the NBA and who are your favourite players?

I follow a little bit. I used to follow more when I was younger, playing myself. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were my favourite players. I think Michael Jordan was the greatest player to have ever played the game. And there are some tremendous players coming through the NBA now. There is Australia’s Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee Bucks number one drafting, never before from Australia. So its fantastic that a country can have a player like that, playing in the NBA, a bit like China with Yao Ming. It’s a very good boost for basketball when kids see him, want to be like him and they start to practice.

Q&A Jan’06 draw&dish 37