Building Better Basketball

Bec Allen has been a fan favorite all around the world in the WNBL, WNBA and Euro Basket! With her defensive ability and Sharp shooting skills it’s easy to see why she is often one that catches a watching coaches eye for ideas on how they can get their players to come close to replicating her talents. Neil and Bec get stuck into her philosophy on shooting, the coach who said it was defense or benc...

This weeks guest needs no introduction to the Basketball public in Australia! Opals captain, WNBL champion, role model for basketball fans everywhere, Tess Madgen. We are going to touch on her amazing playing career which still has lots of time to had to her accolades but what some people might not be aware of is the power of work that Tess is doing on the other side of the sidelines as a coach wi...

Covering off a wide range of topics from South Australia Country Basketball & Basketball New Zealand , Mel Downer joins Neil to talk her unique coaching journey, advice she gives to coaches she works with, her strong belief on balance & the future Opals player/coach in her own house!            

Fiona is a Sports Psychologist who has worked with numerous athletes, coaches, officials and parents across a large number of sports, at all levels from local level to international level. Providing support and information for sporting parents is a true passion for her. Helping parents to understand how to assist their sporting child reach their full potential and enjoy their sport is a key area o...

Todays guest will be no stranger to all of you and I’m sure you are all wondering why it has taken till now for him to make an appearance as his name is synonymous with Basketball Coach Development in Australia. Peter Lonergan is the Director of High Performance Coach Development for Basketball Australia.  Peter is an influential coach educator impacting coaching development around the world. He h...

Trying to describe todays guest could take many turns as Leigh Ellis is known for many different reasons to the Australian Basketball community !. You might know him from his work on NBA TV ? You might know him from the global podcast smash that is the Starters. You might just randomly have started following him on twitter as his shotting competition with Steph Curry, yes THE Steph Curry came acro...

Neil is joined by Sydney Masters the Mental Skills coach at the Arizona Diamondbacks in Major League Baseball. Sydney has experience in Sports Psychology and cognitive performance! Suffice to say Sydney has a lot of experience seeing how athletes brains work when things are going well and probably most importantly when things aren’t! I can confidently predict this pod will leave coaches with plent...

Neil is joined by an Australian who has been part of one of the NBA’s biggest franchises and worked with Doc Rivers and Joel Embiid but not many of you will know her name! Carmen Colomer started off her working career with the AIS before moving into the world of Rugby with the Brumbies and the Brisbane Broncos. In 2021 she then got the opportunity of a lifetime to join the Philadelphia 76ers as th...

Lisa Middleton is one of Australia’s most experienced Sports Dietitians. With over 20 years spent advising some of the nation’s most elite athletes, Lisa has built expertise in reaching optimum levels of performance in sport. Lisa has an unparalleled history of working with teams at the top of their game. In her role as Sports Dietitian, Lisa has advised the Essendon, Hawthorn, Collingwood, Melbou...

Neil is joined by a coach who has gone from the top of Australia in Cairns right down to the bottom in Tasmania! Nic Martin is currently the State Head Coach and Development Manager at Basketball Tasmania. Nic is also just recently returned from Guam where he was one of the Assistant coaches of the Gold Medal winning U15 Australian Girls team!  Nic's coaching journey started with him shooting his...

Neil is joined by one of the most exciting players in the WNBL Steph Reid ! Steph played College basketball in the US for the University of Buffalo, picking up MVP honours and being part of their first ever NCAA tournament run! Back home in Australia she has played for the Dandenong Rangers/Southside Flyers and now with the Townsville Fire and made her Opals debut this year against Japan in Sydney...

Darren Smith (CEO Basketball Australia Pathways) was a player himself which we will touch on but we have him on to talk about the US College pathway which is growing increasingly popular for Australian players looking to be able to gain further development of their skills, education and life experience. Darren has been through this experience himself as a player but most recently Darren has also b...

Today is the crossover episode you have all been waiting for, the OG’s of the Australian podcast game, Talking Split from Basketball Victoria. We were lucky enough to have Jenni Screen on at the end of season 1 and now we get two more of the set! I’m really excited to have the Brains and Voices of that show in High Performance Coach for Basketball Victoria Country Women Zoe Carr (@ZoeCarr85 on twi...

Alex shares team and player development ideas for coaches, teams, federations, and organizations all around the world. Alex’s focus is on helping coaches stimulate their thinking by combining their personal and practical experiences with the empirical evidence which exists within the research world. Many of these evidence-informed coaching ideas that Alex shares are based upon the  Constraint Led...

Brent has an honours degree in Exercise Science, is a full time Exercise Physiologist and Strength and Conditioning coach. You might have seen Brents face on your tv’s and wondered who he was as he has roles with the Townsville Fire, Heat and Flames and the Australian Opals. Brent is the brother of Paul Goriss, one of the current assistants of the Australian Opals. We are really excited we have be...

Todays episode is a going to be a little bit different, a little bit more serious but you know as coaches sometime we have to deal with the tougher conversations and our guest today is going to help arm you with what you need to look out for and how you can best handle the situations in the event that something does happen to a player under your care.   Joining me today is Damien Morris, the Head...

Howard Beck is an American journalist. Beck has covered the National Basketball Association for the Los Angeles Daily News, the New York Times and more recently, Bleacher Report. Since December 2020, he has been an NBA senior writer for Sports Illustrated, where he also cohosts The Crossover podcast with Chris Mannix. On the podcast Howard gives us his own insight into how the global nature of the...

Dee had an AIS scholarship at 16 and made history winning the first and only WNBL championships with an AIS team. Dee as well as representing the Opals also played professionally in Spain and Italy and after 13 years in the WNBL was awarded life membership. Dee swiftly moved into coaching and has had numerous senior roles in Victoria both at Club and state level as well as coaching the Australian...

Elite Player, Excellent Coach, Quality commentator and Super Mum ! Jenni Screen joins Neil to talk about her return to coaching, her coaching philosophy and supports and the Womens World Cup which is right around the corner!

Peter is Founding Director of The Inclusion Club and Manager of  Play by the Rules – a national initiative to promote safe, fair and inclusive sport. Peter has worked for over 25 years in the field of inclusive sport, disability sport and physical activity including 17 years managing the Australian Sports Commission’s Disability Sport Unit.  Peter joins Neil to talk inclusion both in coaching and...

Neil is joined by Alex Auerbach the Senior Director of Wellness and Development at the Toronto Raptors in the NBA to talk about his role at the highest level, how it can transfer down to community sport, his partnership with a previous guest and most importantly the Question of the Podcast!

A special double header episode spanning the whole globe. Neil talks to AFLW superstar Sarah Rowe about how she has become an elite multi sport athlete, her work off the field mentoring and supporting both coaches and athletes and how Australia fairs in terms of sport especially for young girls from her perspective. Then Neil is joined by Zach Schwartz who's face many of you will have seen on mult...

In 2017, JP initially started Thrive On Challenge as a blog, and it grew into a sports consulting business in 2017. He has served coaches, athletes, and parents across the world, at every level and in every sport you can name. Regardless of their sport, level, or country, he knows that all coaches need support. Listen in for another fascinating chat about Basketball and Coaching

Helping Hoops started over a decade ago, as an idea to provide children and young people with a different pathway to access basketball. Helping Hoops is collaborative and ambitious in their approach to community. The programs may still only operate in Melbourne, however their mindset and standards are of a global nature, partnered with Nike and Ben Simmons Foundation. We are lucky enough to be joi...

This weeks guest started at the roots of the grassroots and last season reached the top of the tree with the Tasmanian Jackjumpers in the NBL. Jack Fleming talks with Neil about his journey, what’s stayed the same regardless of level and what he has had to change. He touches on how he continues to develop himself as a coach and gives a glimpse into the work that went into starting a successful NBL...