The FIMBA GB +40 Women had their first weekend camp since the squad was announced last month.
After hugs all round with the +50 Women (a team consisting of 3 ex-40s players), who were training beforehand, Coach Harrison sat the squad down to show and explain the style of play and ethos of FIMBA GB.
The theme of Saturday’s session was to “not think you know how to perform, until you perform without thinking” and the focus of this kick-off discussion was offensive spacing and when and how to apply the correct defensive pressure to reduce the opportunity for our opposition to score.
After walking through the various discussions and options on the court, the squad stretched and got to work. The initial drills consisted of breaking the key aspects of the plays down into simpler elements and focussing on a key skill in each. As the skills developed, so too did the confidence ensuring a competitive game at the end where the full plays were put into action. The coaching team let the play flow, but took quick timeouts throughout to explain and clarify certain aspects.
It’s always nice to have the squad together for the first time as there is more of a buzz and the level improves as they try and understand their teammates better and work out how best to play as a team.
Assistant Coach Lauder
Some evening gym sessions at the hotel and an early start on Sunday helped keep the focus as the squad moved to defence, with Coach Harrison asking the players to “work on their weakness to improve their strength.”
Individual on the ball defence, developed into 2v2 and 3v3 before moving to the full 5 man defensive movement. Coach Lauder then took over for some high intensity shooting and boxing out drills, before the teams were split at the end for 5v5 games, where the coaches were looking at how the players adjusted and used the learnings from the weekend.
We were very pleased with how the girls reacted and stepped up this weekend. There was an awful lot of information to take on as we stepped the level and expectations up from where they were during the trials. Taking to the court on Saturday, we had a group of talented players, but leaving the court of Sunday we had the start of great team. Lots of work to do before the international tournaments next year but some solid foundations to build on.
Assistant Coach Lauder
The squad have one more weekend camp in 2024 on 14/15th December, before the final teams for the World Cup in Croatia and World Championships in Switzerland will be announced.
