Canadian Basketball Coaching Clinic Bringing Country Together for Growth Opportunity

Over the last decade, Canada has established itself as a growing powerhouse in global basketball. This has been the case at the highest levels like the NBA where at least one Canadian player was selected in the draft in every year since 2010, and also at youth levels, where multiple Canadian teams have earned medals across different FIBA youth competitions.

When reflecting on the success over the past decade and thinking about what’s ahead, it’s undeniable that a lot of it comes on the shoulders of the players. But it takes a village to raise a child and that is definitely the case in Canadian Basketball. Whether it’s family, coaches, trainers or educators, there are always others that impact and guide a player on their basketball journey.

It’s for that reason that Chris Oliver, founder of Basketball Immersion, partnered with Golden Ticket Sports to organize the upcoming Cross Canada Coaches Clinic: a free series of virtual clinics led by Canadian Basketball Coaches for Canadian Basketball Coaches on May 18-28.

“When I started talking to Canadians, some people that were pretty high up in basketball, some of them didn’t know people like Mano Watsa were Canadian.” Chris said when explaining his motivation for starting this. “This blew my mind because we need to be celebrating and recognizing these types of accomplishments within our own country.”

Watsa, along with Jay Triano, Roy Rana, Carly Clarke and Jama Mahlalela, headline the list of over 50 Canadian basketball leaders presenting at the event. The speakers come from all across Canada’s coaching ranks and represent the professional, collegiate and grassroots levels. This is something that Chris says was done by design.

“We went for the top of the top (coaches), but also wanted to be representative of every province, level and gender. We partnered with each province to identify and connect with coaches as well. Pretty much if you think of any coach that you would want to hear speak, I guarantee we asked them. But for reasons that are all good, some couldn’t or chose not to.”

In addition to the diverse set of speakers, the summit will also cover a wide range of topics from culture to X’s and O’s to analytics. The common thread between them? Stimulating coaches’ thinking.

“That’s always been the goal. To expose all of us to new and creative ideas that, in our space as volunteers, part-time coaches or full-time coaches, we may not have had the chance to dive into or learn about before.” Chris explained. “Any learning opportunity will either validate or challenge what you currently do now, and that is a good thing”.

When asked which session he was most excited about, Chris had a tough time narrowing it down to just one. “It is easy to say the Jay Triano’s, Mano Watsa’s, Scott Morrison’s and Roy Rana’s, but for me it’s the under-appreciated coaches where many don’t know how incredible they are… the Brad Campbell’s, Len Harvey’s, Chris Krause’s and Taylor Allan’s.”

Full List of Cross Canada Coaches Clinic Speakers

North Pole Hoops’ CEO Tariq Sbiet will be leading a session called Basketball Marketing – Generating Undeniable Demand and he couldn’t be more excited to be involved in the clinic. “Chris Oliver has done a tremendous job in his career of having an inclusive approach to coaching. The same is true with his company Basketball Immersion and this clinic, which is a no brainer to attend for any coach at any level that is serious about growth and improvement.”

With Chris’ inclusive approach in mind, it’s clear why he made this event free for all participants. By removing any financial barriers – especially during a time like this – Chris is hoping to reach as many folks as possible to help grow the game of basketball in Canada and recognize our country’s coaching excellence.

“Coaches are humble people. They do so many things that are unseen and they usually do them without any fanfare or support. I hope this is the beginning of celebrating, promoting and developing our coaches to a bigger platform and recognizing them for the service to the players, community and game of basketball.”

Like a child, it takes a village to run an event of this scale. And although he’s spearheading the event, Chris will be the first to say that he couldn’t put something like this together. “I could not have done this without Tanner Brightman and Chris King (founders of Golden Ticket Sports). They specialize in hosting, running, organizing and facilitating first-class sport events and professional development opportunities and were a huge part of getting this done.”

The Cross Canada Coaches Clinic will be free for all attendees and replays of each session will be made available on-demand as well. For coaches and hoop heads that like to register for the event can do so through this link here.