BASKETBALL

Purpose and Fit

The Power Smart Manitoba Games are great athlete introduction to a multi-sport environment. With the sport of Basketball being in the Canada Games (17U) it is a perfect fit with the Train to Train stage of Long Term Athlete Development. It’s Basketball Manitoba’s goal to use the Manitoba Games as the first step in identifying and development Manitoba athletes for future interprovincial events and beyond.

Phase 1 & 2

The Basketball competition of the Games will take place in Phase 1 – Female and Phase 2 – Male on July 15 – 21, 2012 in Swan River, Manitoba.

Age Category:

· Cadet – 16U as of 2012; Born in 1996 or later

· Train to Compete Stage

Competition Format

A new competition format will see the advent of an ‘all-star team’ approach by identifying the top 12 athletes (or 24 in Winnipeg) to represent a region at the Games. This will be accomplished with a series of open tryouts in each region to identify and train the athletes heading into the Games. At the provincial finals the format will be played at a 5 on 5, 8 team tournament.

Regional Team Identification and Development

Basketball Manitoba, along with the members of its Provincial Council will coordinate specific open tryouts and training camps for players ages 16U in each region in the spring of 2012. The camps will be run as open tryouts with the respective regional coaches using them to identify as many as 20 athletes per region with a final roster of twelve athletes per region per gender (24 in Winnipeg). The Winnipeg tryouts will be held in conjunction with the Manitoba Provincial Team tryouts on the second weekend of April 2012 in Winnipeg. The other six regions will host their tryouts over the last two weekends of April. This will result in as many as 8 male teams and 8 female teams in total (96 male athletes, 96 female athletes for a total of 192 athletes) heading into the Games in July.

Once the twelve team roster has been set in each region by May 31, 2012, the team will set a number of training weekends through to July 2012.

The teams will also participate in any Sport Science opportunities provided by the respective Regional Sport Office or Sport Manitoba

Coach Selection

A general call for coaches was issued by Basketball Manitoba in the spring of 2011 through its website to the basketball community. For more information, please visit the Basketball Manitoba website (http://www.basketballmanitoba.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2523&Itemid=316)

Coach Development

A total of 4 coaches will be identified in each region (8 in Winnipeg) to coach one of the two teams in the area (4 teams in Winnipeg).

All coaches/mangers must complete the online Respect in Sport program prior to the start of the Games. http://www.sportmanitoba.ca/respectinsport.php

Once the base of coaches are in place, Basketball Manitoba will establish NCCP coaches clinics in each region for the Manitoba Games Coach and others in the community to attend in the September 2011 to April 2012 range. The level of certification that will be required and offered will be at the new ‘NCCP Intro to Competition Advanced’ level which caters to coaches working with athletes at the 12-16 age range.

Basketball Manitoba has already worked closely with Coaching Manitoba and the Parkland Sport Association to offer the first NCCP ITCA clinic outside of Winnipeg under the new NCCP system.

All Manitoba Games coaches will also be invited to the annual Basketball Manitoba Super Coaches Clinic in October 2011. Their registration fees will be covered along with travel, residence and food costs while in Winnipeg.

Contact

For more information regarding identification, development programs and the selection process for the 2012 Power Smart Manitoba Summer Games, please contact Adam Wedlake or Dan Becker at Basketball Manitoba at (204) 925-5775 or adam@basketballmanitoba.ca or dan@basketballmanitoba.ca or check out their website at http://www.basketballmanitoba.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=230&Itemid=303.