Regional Academy – Players Application
After a challenging 16 months for everybody, basketballscotland are delighted to announce further details on the new Regional Academy programmes for youth basketball ahead of the 2021/22 season.
What are the Regional Academy and National Academy?
The Regional Academy is basketballscotland’s long-term athlete development programme for U14U18 age groups, focusing on physical, technical, tactical, psychological and social elements of the game. The Regional Academy is focused on helping players who are serious about improving to develop key knowledge and skills that will help them progress within the game.
The National Academy is the programme in which a small number of players train together as a team and prepare for competitions against teams from other nations. A major aim of the National Academy programmes is to help players to enhance their chances of representing the Great Britain teams competing in European championship competitions each year.
How does the Regional Academy work?
Rather than being based in the traditional regions, where the numbers of players may vary year to year, the Regional Academy will take the form of a series of central venue events, incorporating practice and games.
Once players have been selected for the Academy, regions will be created with that allow for teams to be equal in number, so the regions may differ each year. Each region will have a coaching staff who will deliver the practice sessions and coach the games.
When does the Regional Academy take place?
The basketballscotland calendar includes dates for all the sessions, but during the season, most months will include two Regional Academy sessions for U14s and 1 for U16s and U18s. Sessions for female players will usually be on a Saturday and for male players on a Sunday. Each day will last 6-7 hours in total, with camp days practice focused and competition days having approximately 90 minutes of practice in the morning and games in the afternoon.
The dates for the 21/22 season can be found in the images below:
Where will the Regional Academy sessions take place?
Sessions will take place at the regional performance centre in Dundee. Players will be expected to be there at 10:15 for a 10:30 start, and the days will finish at 16:30.
What is commitment for the Regional Academy?
If you sign up for the Regional Academy, you would be expected make an effort to attend all of the sessions as each day builds upon the previous one. This level of commitment aligns with the basketballscotland Regional Academy Talent Behaviours, which can be found in the video here
Do I have to be in the Regional Academy to be considered for the National Academy?
The Regional Academy will allow you to build up towards playing for the National Academy by developing concepts that will be used by the National Academy teams. You will also be in contact with the National Academy coaches on a regular basis, helping you to get to know their expectations. However, players who are participating in other performance environments may also be considered for National Academy teams if they are able to meet the commitments of the programme.
What will the Regional Academy programme cost?
The costs of the programme are dependent on the venues, so details of this will follow. However, all efforts will be made to make the Regional Academy programme affordable for all.
How do I sign up for the Regional Academy programme?
At this time, we are asking for expressions of interest in being part of the Regional Academy programme, which can be completed by clicking the appropriate link below. A formal application process may follow this and, where necessary, a selection process may be required and details of this would be provided. For U16 and U18 players, the National Depth Chart Camp will form the major part of this selection process.
All expressions of interest must be submitted by: 30th July 2021
U14 expression of interest (DoB 2008 or earlier)
U16 expression of interest (DoB 2006 & 2007)
U18 expression of interest (DoB 2004 & 2005)
If you have any questions about the information provided, please contact: john.kerray@basketball-scotland.com
