Last weekend represented the penultimate training weekend of the +50 Women’s campaign, which took place in Leicester once again.
The team had recently suffered a few setbacks with injuries and illnesses since our last training session in February, so it was great to see the full Ticino squad back together. They were also accompanied by a number of their highly valued training squad players.
A change was made to the set-up of Saturday’s session so that the players concentrated on their offensive philosophies against a “man” defence from the off. The aim of this tweak was to produce increased awareness of the many opportunities the offensive plays generate, including on the fastbreak. The coaches also fine-tuned the plays to ensure the team worked for great shots rather than settling for the first reasonable shot as well as making the extra pass. Captain Ruth also worked with the team on various plays which will be invaluable in certain game situations. All these points were put into practice in team games with the learnings clearly on show.
Sunday’s training plan commenced with drills to sharpen up on passing and shooting as well as work on their 1-on-1 skills and clinical finishing. In addition, player-coach Hazel worked with the guards on certain player and ball movement drills as well as mid-range shooting scenarios, whilst Coach Gander worked with the “talls” on post-up moves and creating quick shot opportunities within the flow of the offences. Due to the number of players available on Sunday, 3 teams were created for an extended section working on games situations to round off the session.
Feedback from players has been extremely positive and I was very pleased with the results of the training sessions. I feel that the progress made, along with the effort contributed by all the players, has been instrumental getting us back on track. In the remaining 8 weeks before we head off to the World Championships in Switzerland, we will be attending 2 tournaments and the final training session on May 17th/18th again in Leicester. The team and I look forward to these events enormously.
Head Coach, Phil Gander
For more details on the FIMBA GB +50 Women click here or if you are interested in partnering the +50 Women and support their journey in 2025, you can find all the relevant details on our partners page.
