Well over 100 of Tasmania’s most promising young basketballers will come together this weekend in Launceston for Basketball Tasmania’s 2010 National Intensive Training Program (NITP) induction camp.

 

The on-court sessions of the camp will be held at the Elphin Sports Centre and it will be the first opportunity for the 127 athletes aged between 14 and 17 who comprise next year’s intake, to come together for training and development.

 

The primary aim of the camp is to introduce next year’s intake of athletes to the standards and expectations of the program.

 

Tasmanian Institute of Sport and NITP Basketball Coach Justin Schueller is excited about what the camp will bring out in the athletes, “Having our kids come together from across the state to learn with, and compete against each other really helps to develop them much more quickly.”

 

The camp will not only see the athletes working on their on-court skills. There will be a number of off-court sessions which cover sports psychology, nutrition and hydration and self massage techniques.

 

“We want to develop the athletes not just on-court but also off-court through the program. It’s about setting the athletes up for the best chance of success but also helping them along the road to becoming good citizens” Schueller said.

 

For the first time the NITP Induction Camp will also function as a state team coaches camp as well, with the coaches at the camp being the appointed state coaches for 2010.

 

“It’s a great way to ensure our athletes receive the best coaching as well as allowing us to give our coaches some great professional development. The other benefit is it will allow us to ensure our programs operate on the same page, which is important for our future success.” Schueller said.

 

This weekend’s camp at the Elphin Sports Centre commences on Saturday at 10am and concludes at 1.00pm on Sunday.

 

For further details please contact TIS and NITP Basketball Coach Justin Schueller on 0419 344 903.

 

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