Canada Basketball Super Clinic 2018 – Improvement and Diversity in Canadian coaching

Canada Basketball’s annual coaching super clinic will be taking place from June 8-10 at Brock University in St. Catherines, ON.

The Super Clinic is a weekend event that consists of numerous presentations led by experts from around the world, and is filled with learning, sharing, and networking. The Super Clinic gathers a wealth of knowledge for others to learn from – not only specifically about basketball, but also about life skills such as leadership, psychology, and communication. This one-of-a-kind weekend is great for teachers, coaches, athletes and anyone who is eager to learn.

Canada is a natural decision to host this event as the country ranks in the top-5 for coaching education in the world. So it should come as no surprise that the event will attract a national audience including coaches from the United States, Sweden, Columbia and Russia.

Those attending will be given the chance to learn from many high level coaches including Jay Triano, Shawnee Harle, Darrell Glenn, Ron Yeung and many more. Guest speakers with a wealth of experience in the basketball world will also be there to pass on their knowledge. The list of speakers include Rowan Barrett, Dave Bollwinkel, Nadine Crowley, Greg Francis, Facundo Petracci, Dave Smart and more names to be announced.

The overall improvement and increased diversity of coaching staffs across the country has certainly been a huge step in this process.

Canada Basketball has seen a huge jump in talent in both male and female players with many reaching their ultimate goal of playing professionally.

Dawn Smyth, Canada Basketball’s Director of Domestic Development has over eight years of coaching experience at the collegiate level. She believes in the importance of having a coach that you can look up to both on and off the court.

“The power of a role model is huge. When you see someone like you doing something, it allows your mind to open to that could be me too. Although coaches are not players at the highest level, they are role models in other ways,” says Smyth.

Gender diversity in coaching has been on the mind of many NBA fans after an incredible post on the Players Tribune from Pau Gasol and reports suggesting Spurs assistant, Becky Hammon could be in line for a head coaching position.

Canadians don’t need to look any further than the University of Victoria head coach. Dani Sinclair has been at UVic for six years and even called “Superwoman” by her peers for being able to raise a big, young family while handling the stresses and commitments of a head coach. In the future, Sinclair wants females to succeed as leaders and coaches not only in the women’s game but in the men’s game as well.

“Gender should not be a determining factor in what a coach can bring to the table.  For a long time I’ve personally argued the importance of strong female role models leading young women. I still believe this to be extremely important for many reasons, but this doesn’t mean that only women can coach women.  Coaching positions at all levels should be determined by one’s ability to lead and manage a group/program. Mothers and families deal with this balancing act everyday while doing other jobs, so why not coaching?,” said Sinclair. 

For further information and to sign up for the super clinic, visit the Canada Basketball website!