Buying into Basketball Canada and their plans

When I was attending my coaching level 3 technical course we had many animated discussions in my class. An ongoing theme was whether Basketball Canada deserved our support or needs to change. One of the instructors had this suggestion: Buy into what Basketball Canada has planned!

What he was getting at is that while it's fine to complain about what Basketball Canada has planned for future isn't it best that we all give it our best effort and then make a judgement on the plans. It's hard to say whether something will work or not if you never try it.

Perhaps local basketball organizations are just too small and tightly budgeted to be able to buy in. Most local house leagues prefer not to use referees from the local board in order to keep costs low, despite that good referees can help kids better learn the rules of the game, not to mention the insurance issues involved with not using board officials. I have even seen this in the mens league level.

I often wonder why local leagues will spend money on nicer jerseys than they will on training for coaches, properly run camps for kids, properly trained officials and use of basketball canada's many programs, clinics and camps.

I don't know how many people I've met who could use a whole lot more knowledge about the details of the game. Usually most coaches only know a few offensive and defensive schemes and ride them out, but our young players would benefit so much more by having coaches that are up to date and connected in the system to mentors and other coaches that can share ideas.

How can Basketball Canada help those who don't want to be helped?

Why no pro league?

Why doesn't Canada have a national professional basketball league? Although we do have the Toronto Raptors (NBA), Montreal Matrix (Premier League) and a few other teams at varying time. However the fact that Canada does not have a professional basketball league is a travesty. Canada has been able to support minor league hockey, the Canadian Football League, national major lacrosse and many individual sports teams. But we have never been able to get a basketball league past the infant stages despite having a sports infrastructure that makes basketball an obvious choice for a sports league.

The fact that the Canadian landscape is dominated by minor hockey teams with arenas should be reminicent of how the NBA got it's start playing second fiddle in NHL venues, but professional basketball has just failed to find a solid foothold.

Now there are minor pro teams in Halifax, Montreal, Quebec City, and Winnipeg. Why can we not have a national league?

What's the use of FIBA?

So in the last few years FIBA, basketballs international governing body, has really put a lot of pressure on Basketball Canada to have all basketball in this country play by their rules.

My question with this is what is FIBA doing to help expand or improve basketball in Canada, and what does adopting these rules at the grassroots level do for basketball here?

I have put some thought into what the answer is, and what it should be.

First I feel that the biggest advantage to adopting FIBA rules is at the officials level. If we use FIBA rules then we will produce FIBA referee's and scorekeepers that can then be used when we host FIBA tournaments. This could be very important for Canada's basketball future as it could lessen the logistical costs of running a high quality tournament.

What it does not do is give our young players a better chance at playing professional basketball. The highest ameteur level in North America is the NCAA and they do not play using FIBA rules.

Premium play

I recently read an article in the Globe & Mail about a guy who has started a premium basketball mens league in Vancouver. I got to thinking what would I consider a premium league and what would I pay to be in one?

The average mens league is $200-$250 with about ten games plus playoffs. Usually some sort of jersey, a reversable or a t-shirt. Most use qualified officials from the local board. If statistics are kept it's usually only scoring average.

So what do I think a premium league must offer? Lets start with a high quality stitched jersey and shorts with the players name on it. Teams should have names and logo's.

Full statistics including points, rebounds(offensive and defensive), assists, blocks, field goal percentage, free-throw percentage, and three point percentage, turnovers. I think a shot chart would be a nice touch.

I would have pictures and video of the games available via the league website. The website would also include sports section styled stories about each game and previews of the upcoming contests.

The question is would anyone pay extra for this and how much would they be willing to pay?

Let me know what you think.

Where is our National Training Facility?

I read that USA basketball will be moving to a new state of the art training facility in Phoenix, Arizona.

Where is Canada's training facility?

When we wonder why we can not compete with the worlds best national basketball teams we can start with the fact that we don't have a dedicated facility for our program.

I see the Soccer Canada has been able to add a soccer only National Stadium in Toronto with BMO Field. Basketball Canada needs a facility that they can use to train and produce the best basketball players for our future.

Using an existing university facility won't do. They need a facility that they have control over to maximize it's effects on our national and Jr national players.

How much could it cost to build a basketball gym with some seating. A European sized (5000 seats) basketball building would be perfect for international games and some national tournaments. They could also rent it out for local tournaments and even a minor league team.

Right now Basketball Canada needs to start somewhere with something to get the program moving forward.

FIBA Organizer

Over the last few years basketballs international governing body, FIBA, has demanded that canadian basketball adopt FIBA rules at every level. I would say that this demand has been met with disdain as FIBA has rules that are very unfamiliar to North American basketball.

The question I had is what does FIBA have to offer us?

I think I have found one of the answers...The FIBA Organizer!

The FIBA Organizer is software that can be used to organize leagues and tournaments. This includes tournament draws, league schedules, standings, and all statistical categories. It includes a website to upload the schedule and statistics to.

This is excellent piece of software that can really help community basketball organizations be well prepared to run their basketball leagues each year. It's so good that it could easily be used in a professional league!

The best part is that FIBA offers this software for free. FIBA will pay for the licensing of any organization that wants to use the software. To top that off FIBA is also improving the Organizer, so any glitches or future needs will soon be fixed.

Without a doubt this is a valuable item that is simply not getting enough use. Basketball Canada and FIBA should be pushing the use of the Organizer in Canada. I suggest that any basketball organization use it.

Happy New Year

I resolve to make this a better blog!